Living with Determination
by WhateverNever
Summary: Chie and Kanji take up the job of being security guards at the Kirijo groups' Yakushima mansion. But why can't Labrys, one of their maids, remember her past? And why do they so badly want to forget their own? A P3/4 cast crossover, with sprinklings of bad language.
1. Prologue

_It was your standard modern fairy tale. A brave newcomer rallies the townsfolk into fighting an unspeakable foe. Utilising the power of persona, a physical manifestation of your true self (for better or worse), they fought the shadows that resided inside the strange world of the TV, and won. Yu Narukami was a true hero. With the help of his friends, the energetic teen superstar Rise Kujikawa, elegant heiress Yukiko Amagi, his loyal partner Yosuke Hanamura, the soft centred punk Kanji Tatsumi, the meat-loving martial artist Chie Satonaka, mysterious detective Naoto Shirogane, and the childish supernatural Teddie, the fog was cleared from his town, uncovering the truth of who was behind the serial killings, and the true nature of the midnight channel. But his story is over. This is a story of those he left behind… _

Kanji Tatsumi had changed; that was never up for any arguments. But looking in the mirror, his hair now back to a slick of bleached blonde, gaudy rings over the more conservative studs he had recently been adopting, on top of a leather jacket he hadn't worn since his first year of high school, he had his doubts.

But the change was necessary, or so he had been told. 'Security guards have to look tough, not dorky!' Chie had told him emphatically. It took a lot of effort for the tailor to reign in his disagreement, to not mention the hours he spend painstakingly choosing how his new wardrobe, how the fit was so perfect that he only ever looked kickass, and how she should just stick it already!

The airport bathroom was empty, unsurprising considering the late hour. Chie had insisted on a cheap flight that would arrive at 3AM, and considering his lack of real financial status, he was in no position to argue. Laying his gym bag on the floor, lamenting once again everything that didn't fit inside, he stared down his mirror-self right in the eyes, daring him to run. He rested his forehead on the reflective surface and closed his eyes. _What am I doing here, _he thought helplessly, screwing his eyes faster and faster shut.

It was all Naoto's fault of course. Ever since that impromptu interrogation three years ago, she seemed to have been a catalyst in making his life more difficult, not that he ever did much to avoid those new hardships. The problem with an unrequited crush, one spanning years no less, is that the subject of such feelings develops the gravity of a black hole, a force a love-struck fool is all too willing to be crushed by. Even now, with their meetings being few and far between, the detective's request was impossible to refuse.

The impressive part was that it wasn't even her request. He had been working at the shop, minding his own business, like he had been for the endless weeks since the end of summer. Yosuke had long since returned to their university, Rise was on tour or doing some acting job, he had lost track, Yukiko was working at the inn as if her life depended on it, and Teddie was doing god knows what. The bear had taken to using his endless charm and incredible naivety to decide it would be his job to go around the planet and give them what they really want; himself. He had given some long speech to the team about it being his way to brighten up humanity's 'collective subconscious' and prevent the fog ever forming again, but Kanji had tuned out as soon as he realised Teddie actually believed what he was saying.

_Still, _the tailor thought glumly, _least he's been doing something. _While the boy, (still not a man in his own eyes), enjoyed working at his family's store, the past few weeks of working in a practically empty Inaba had given him a rude awakening. He had gotten used to having friends, always present, always available, always together, and completely forgot the horrible feeling of isolation that had dominated his middle school years. The only problem was that unlike those days, he didn't have the never ending fountain of rage to fuel his daily life. He was stagnating, with the only definite part of his future being working in a shop, surrounded only by fabric and his mother, and eventually, only the cloth would be there to keep him company. It was a depressing prospect, and the idea he would still see his senpai and friends, but on holidays, when their schedules allowed it, only sunk his spirits closer to rock bottom. So when Chie made her offer, he'd practically bit off her hand. Well, after some reservations…

_"Run that by me again."_

_"Ugh," Chie groaned, throwing her hands in the air. "What don't you get, this is simple!" She sunk down onto the younger boy's futon, red faced, letting the back of her head bounce off the mattress._

_Kanji rolled his eyes, pushing his chair away from his desk, deciding the felt puppy wouldn't be going anywhere. Swivelling to face the woman on his bed, he mildly noted how common it was becoming to be interrupted by this slightly stroppy cop. "Sure, it's simple," He grunted, "But it sounds nuts. Where'd you even hear about this?"_

_The martial artist had, rather rudely, already settled herself onto his futon, lying down and staring at the ceiling. She was in her work clothes, but, typically for herself off-shift, they lacked any sense of authority, tie unruly, top of the shirt unbuttoned, and the blazer just not angled right. Her hat had somehow found itself on top of Kanji's bookshelf, the previous excitement for her wonderful proposal too much to contain. "It doesn't even matter alright!" she snapped. Fortunately, he had gotten used to her slowly deteriorating disposition over the last year, and merely raised an eyebrow. "Look, are you in, or not?"_

_Scootching closer to his friend, he looked her dead in the eyes. "If you're asking me to move across the freakin' country as a favour course it damn matters. What's the deal?"_

_Anger was so natural to hear from Kanji, it had the effect of calming Chie down. "Well…" She sighed, resting a tired hand on her forehead. "Y'know how I keep applying to other precincts?"_

_Her friend nodded sagely. All he had been hearing from his martial artist friend was how there was never any real action in Inaba, the murder case none withstanding. "And this means…"_

_"It means nobody's willing to take me on," She replied glumly, "And this last place kept saying I need more experience."_

_Kanji squinted, still failing to see the connection. "So? Stick around here a few years and then you can go, it ain't that-"_

_"But it is." The academy graduate cut in. "C'mon. You're just as tired of this town as I am. This is an opportunity!" The bubbly, enthusiastic Chie that Kanji once knew was rising to the surface, a side he could often bring back as long as he endured a hammy Kung-Fu flick or ritzed out on a steak lunch. "The location's great, and we'd be working for a good company, and the pay really is amazing for people our age…"_

_Kanji just shook his head, sinking her spirits to their now-usual level. "That ain't enough. You know that. Who'd look after Ma? Who'd look after the shop? And your dog won't feed itself." Awkwardly, he rolled his chair closer to his downtrodden senpai and placed a strong hand on her shoulder. "Listen," he started, trying to channel some of Yu's old pep-talk finesse, "I know things are pretty shitty right now. But this is way too much. Besides, I know Yukiko-" He flinched as he said the name, even before feeling the familiar glare Chie threw him whenever he broached the topic. "What I mean is," he clumsily tried again, "I know she'd miss you. You'd miss her, and don't even pretend otherwise."_

_But the martial artist was gone, staring into a corner of the room with her eyes glazed over. "She wouldn't even notice we were gone…" Snapping back into reality, she glanced at Kanji for only a second and bit her lip, knowing she had to play her trump card. "This… Wasn't actually my idea you know…" She started, forcing her voice to be casual in only the loosest sense._

_A lost Kanji tilted his head. "Whaddya mean?"_

_The police officer gulped, then cleared her throat. "It was actually Naoto-kun's…" _

Chie could still remember the way his head pricked up, knowing instantly she had him hook, line, and sinker. _A fishing metaphor, _she noted sadly, the flash of grey in her mind suddenly shifting into a sea of intense red. Breathing softly, she returned to thinking about her poor, easily manipulated partner, doing god knows what in the restroom. She still felt bad about bringing Naoto into it, but she was desperate. She had been desperate for months. Kicking her heels, and _definitely _not having second thoughts, she quietly ended up doing her usual thing; thinking about how horrible her life had become.

The academy had been… Fine. The commute to Okina for classes had been easy, and the training was definitely more interesting than anything in school. The fact was however, nobody was there, and any potential friends didn't make themselves known. She had tried, god she had tried, to bridge the gap in those first few months, but everyone was so much older, trying to switch professions, or younger, with an air that disturbingly reminded her of Adachi, too carefree, and just waiting to abuse their future positions. It didn't help that when one of those younger guys made a slightly sexist joke she used a kick she usually saved for on Yosuke Hanamura, and won herself the grand title of 'the stuck-up bitch'. This didn't even win her any points with the precious few women in the class, who sided with the guys as to not rock the boat, or just stayed quiet, and well clear of the freak.

That would have all been fine if things at home were like they were, but they weren't. Inaba was empty besides from Kanji and the occasional sighting of Teddie. Completely empty. With no other people whatsoever. With that huge bunch of options available, she had taken to bugging the tailor at every opportunity, which he didn't seem to mind, considering he didn't exactly have a lot of choice either. But there were the times he took to hanging out with Naoki, leaving Chie alone. So very alone.

That pretty much summed up her year. Academy, Kanji, alone. Once she graduated the preliminary course (third in her class), she was assigned a placement which, due to convenience, had to be in the Inaba, which meant she had to work with Detective Dojima, which had definitely not healthy for her psyche. If the work had been interesting enough that she didn't have time to let it get to her it would have been great, but it was an Inaba post-Izanami, an Inaba where crime was only ever petty and uninteresting. She spent her days filling out forms and hoping desperately to suddenly become invested in it, rather than her brain be filled with thoughts of the town's most beloved scoundrel.

Naoto, however, did come back. Only sporadically, and for scant hours at best, but she did visit, although Chie clearly saw it was out of a sense of duty as opposed to any enthusiasm. Yosuke and Rise also made their own visits, but she made a point to avoid them. Naoto she didn't blame, those two… She frowned, seethed, and kicked the wall she was leaning against with the heel of her plimsolls. _Best not to think about it, _she reminded herself, pain shooting up her shin. It was easier that way.

Back down memory lane, she recalled how this new opportunity had presented itself, during Naoto's most recent visit. The detective had been wittering on about her favourite topic, her continued investigation of the shadow phenomena, all over a quite frankly disgusting cup of coffee. While Chie made sure to nod and gasp as the appropriate intervals, her heart really wasn't in it. The case was over. End of story, nothing to follow up on.

_"If only I had an agent on the inside,"_ _the detective had bemoaned, "their systems are impossible to crack."_

_The mere mention of espionage roused Chie to begin paying attention. "That would be cool! But, uh, what would you hope to find?"_

_Naoto's eyes twinkled, the woman glad to have had something asked from her by her usually unresponsive friend. "All manner of things. The Kirijo group was at the heart of the Tatsumi Port Island incidents and may even as we speak be running research into shadow activity."_

_"Really?" Chie asked, eyebrows raised in excitement. "What kind of research?"_

_"Where to start? My theory is-"_

The martial artist had dozed off again when her dorky friend pulled out her Kirijo dossier, but the name of the company had stuck in her mind, and an absent minded session of scrolling through web pages had somehow led her to their recruitment page. One listing caught her eye, a year's contract in the CEO's private residence, looking for 'a team of discrete and well synergised individuals for a simple security assignment.' Encouragingly, there was a footnote, 'We accept all applicants.' A quick search of said residence, the remote and beautiful Yakushima Island, sold her wholeheartedly.

So while Naoto hadn't _explicitly _told her to do this, she may as well have. Besides, she threw the Shirogane name on their application for extra credit, so she was basically involved. _Still_, she thought tiredly, _I'll have to set things straight with Kanji-kun someday… _An ear pricked up at the sound of a creaking door. _Speak of the devil. _Chie turned to face her emerging friend, bringing her peppier persona to the surface. Someone had to be positive. "You get lost or something in there?"

Kanji's drooping eyelids told her he didn't have any time for her bullshit. "Just y'know, freaking the fuck out a little." He replied honestly, walking straight past his senpai towards the exit. She fell in line beside him, a little bounce in her step that prompted a sideways glance from the tall boy. "Why're we doin' this again?"

Chie shrugged, trying to overlook the fact he'd been asking the same kind of questions for the entire flight. "Why not? Is there anything else you'd rather be doing?" His grunt in retort was a string of intelligible mutterings. Tuning this out, Chie found herself and her partner on the pavement outside the front of the airport. "Taxi'll be here any minute." She turned to her friend, and only now noticed the bags under his eyes. "You could've grabbed some sleep on the plane y'know…"

The tailor's nod was surprisingly firm. "Ain't ever been on one of those things before. I was scared shitless the whole time."

His slowly developed candidness was always something Chie always found surprising. _He spent so much time being something he wasn't, _she reminded herself, _he must really wanna put that behind him… _A pang of guilt shot through her body as she realised again what he was wearing. _And I made him dress up in those stupid clothes. _Averting her gaze, she looked down to herself. Honestly, out of uniform, she looked no different to when she was in high school, the deep green on her torso both a happy comfort, and a sad reminder of times gone by.

Her reverie was broken by the sound of wheels on tarmac. The headlights were blinding, even from a distance, and it took a few moment for Chie's eyes to adjust, only to find Kanji was already sitting inside, settling into a corner of the backseat. She joined him, taking her place on the other side, and after a quick discussion with the driver, they set off. The plan was to get to the coast, grab a boat, head to the island, nail the interview, and-

_The interview. _The martial artist went limp and sank into the cheap seat. "Kanji-kun?"

"Mmmrh?" His eyes were closed, and he kept fidgeting, trying to find the most comfortable position.

"Well…" she sighed. "Remember when I said this was a sure thing? I lied. We'll have to go through an interview and beat out any other applicants and…" She leant forwards and cradled her face in her hands. "Oh god, what if we don't get it? I'd have to call my mom, and I've been talking about this for so long and she didn't even want me to go and-"

"Shhhh..." Chie had been expecting any interruption be an explosion of rage from her friend but luckily, in this state the boy was entirely docile. "We'll get the gig… Has to be us, right?"

"What makes you so sure?

"We're a… Good team…" His speech was slow and laboured, with a gentle air Chie couldn't quite put her finger on. "'Sides… If they don't like us they can get bent."

A small smile formed on Chie's lips, who had always appreciated the younger boy's crudeness, which widened when followed by comically loud snoring. Looking out of the window, it was so dark only the road was visible, but she was content to watch the silhouettes beyond its edge. She curled her fingers into a fist and nodded. _He's right. We are gonna get this job, and then I'm gonna move into the city and be the greatest cop that's ever lived! _She punched the air, but her enthusiasm faded, and in the grey hair of the taxi driver, she saw the boy that had, while having once saved it countlessly, had utterly ruined her life. _This has to work. I can't go through last year again, I… _She closed her eyes, and was quiet for a long time.

* * *

**_AN-_ **Okay, so I'm writing a new story! This one is still gonna have pairings because I'm a self indulgent prat like that, but I'm trying to go for more actual action than romance stuff this time round, switch it up y'know?

Here's the pitch- Chie and Kanji centric, three years after catching Adachi, P3/P4 crossover, and arena didn't happen, though I will be taking some elements of it! That's all I'm gonna say, maybe because that's all I have worked out, maybe because I'm hoping I have it in me to surprise at least a couple of people! If you feel confused by the prologue, don't worry, I'll be filling in gaps as I go along. If I'm doing my job.

I want to have this being updated weekly, a regular schedule and all that, which I can stick to for now considering I'm a scant few chapters ahead, but I may do larger chapter dumps if I feel I can get away with it.

So yeah. Hopefully you enjoy it! As always, I'm doing this in part to become a better writer, so criticism is always welcome, along with praise, if you feel you have the time to articulate it. See you next week! - **_WhateverNever_**


	2. The Interview

The island had taken their breath away. Tropical trees, white beaches, they had never seen anywhere so… Idyllic. Sure, Inaba had its charms, but this was pretty much anyone's idea of a resort heaven. Previously, they thought of upper-class excess in terms of Yosuke, someone who bought something new every week and lived in the wealthier side of town. How wrong they were.

Kanji, still staring at the sparkling water, was practically shoved off the small ferry by Chie. "C'mon, dude," she nagged, straining to push the heavy youth onto the jetty, "we've got an appointment to keep!"

Hoisting his bag over his shoulder, and grumbling some complaints for good measure, he joined his friend striding down the wooden planks, still transfixed by the clear water underneath their feet. "So this is what a decent beach looks like, yeah?"

"I guess," Chie shrugged, who was more worried about whatever trial lay ahead of them, "I've only travelled as much as you have, you know." For the thousandth time, she pulled the printed email out of her pocket, and once again confirmed that the applicants were supposed to meet at the bar on the beachfront. Grabbing the arm of a trailing Kanji, who was scouring the sea for every little detail so thoroughly it looked like he was about to fall in, she directed them to the small shack, taking a seat in one of the deckchairs set outside. Leaning back, she rested her hands on the back of her head and basked in the late morning sunshine. "I could get used to this," she murmured, eyelids already drooping.

"It ain't bad," he friend agreed, relenting to the heat and taking off his jacket. Still feeling warm, he looked to the bar to find something to drink, and was discouraged to find the choices were either alcoholic, or just the worst flavours of Dr. Salt. He looked around, and it finally clicked that this place wasn't empty, and that everybody else would be after the same job opening. There were all sorts- he even saw some foreigners in the mix- but him and Chie were by far the youngest. He began to feel incredibly out of his depth. "Shit, have you seen everyone else 'round here?" His friend opened an eye slowly, slightly annoyed to have her doze cut short before it had even begun. "Jesus they're all huge and- Holy fuck!" His voice dropped to a whisper. "That guy has a fuckin' Yakuza tat I swear." He threw his friend a desperate expression. "We're out of our league here man."

Chie waved off his concerns with an erratic hand motion. "You think too much. I thought I brought along Kanji Tatsumi," she said his name with power, "you know, the guy that took on a whole biker gang and won?"

"Well yeah, but no, wait… That ain't the point, dammit!" He slammed a palm down onto the table between them and pointed at the competition dotted around. "Those guys were low-life punks. These are professionals. Like, real fuckin' professionals. We ain't got a chance."

Chie looked at him as if he was insane, which considering how much sense he was making, made him wonder if she was the crazy one. "So? We will be once we get this job?"

Kanji tilted his head in disbelief. "But that's it, we ain't getting' this job are we?"

"Kanji," Chie sighed, with her eyes almost bored, "Answer me this. Have any of these bozo's gone inside a TV?"

It was a sort of left field question. "Well no, but-"

The martial artist rolled her eyes. "Have any of these guys kicked a shadow's butt?"

"No, but ya see-"

She settled back into the reclined seat as she gave her killer blow. "Have any of these guys saved the world?"

Kanji was dumbfounded. "Well 'course not, but-"

"Saved the world." She closed her eyelids with a smug expression.

"But they have-"

"Saved the world."

"Chie, you know that-"

"Saved the wooooooorld." She shook her head, crunched herself forward and laid a firm hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just quit your worrying dude, we got this!" She thumped her chest, mirroring Kanji's own gesture of confidence. "I promise."

He knew her words were complete bullshit in more than a few ways, but he couldn't help but smile. It died however, cut off by the arrival of a suit with a clipboard, who going between the various teams gathered by the beach. The pair eyed him as he made his way through the pack, confirming details and making sure their paperwork was in order. A rather unassuming figure, he wore a pair of glasses, and seemed perennially impatient, as if things just weren't moving along efficiently enough. He stopped just short of the two of them, however, looking between his notes and themselves, face growing ever so slightly incredulous. With a mostly inaudible sigh, he made his step forward. "You must be Satonaka-san and Tatsumi-san, correct?"

"Damn straight." Kanji nodded, earning a cuff round the ear from Chie. "Hey!" He yelped, snapping his head to her, "What was that for?"

"We're in the process now," she hissed, "We gotta be serious." Her features morphed into a wide smile, turning attention right back to the man standing over them. "Yeah, that's us, hi!"

He smirked, which they weren't sure was a good sign, but it was overlooked as they underwent the tedious process of confirming their identities. "Yes, that about covers it…" he droned, ticking some boxes with his Kirijo-emblazoned pen. "Cars will be arriving shortly. Please take your seats promptly, and you will be brought to the assessment."

As he stepped to walk away, Chie held out her hand. "Wait!" He stopped, and turned his head back. "Do you have any advice? On the interview I mean."

The man smiled. All the other applicants hadn't bothered to ask such a question, those in private security usually having a well-developed sense of their own confidence. He wasn't sure if they were up to much, but they were young. He might as well give them hope. "The Kirijo group is a… Different company to most. Different to ourselves, in fact, if you only delve through even our most recent history." He directed a piercing glance between the two of them. "We value spirit as much as anything else. If you can show you have that, then I'm sure you will perform adequately." He smiled, turning on his heels. "Good luck."

They watched as he walked away, Chie nodding in approval. "That guy was nice…" She scratched her chin. "Spirit huh? What should we do…"

"Kick ass." Kanji said immediately. "S'what we do." Holding up a palm, she slapped an emphatic high-five, and they stood up, ready to face whatever challenge would be placed in front of them.

The car ride wasn't pleasant, the pair having to squeeze between a woman with legs the size of tree trunks, and a man with biceps the size of bowling balls. Chie figured they must make a pretty good team. The professionals kept glancing curiously at the young guns between them, and made no effort to hide the smirk they shared afterwards. Kanji just clenched his fist, trying to ignore their goading, difficult to do when he had a sneaking suspicion they were right to mock.

The tinted windows of the vehicle didn't do the mansion any favours. It was only when they got out of the car, gulping in blissful lungfuls of clean air, that they were really impressed. Its walls were white, and completely spotless, the red roofing tiles gleaming, and perfectly symmetrical. As they followed the other applicants, while they couldn't see it due to the dense vegetation of the tropical island, they could just feel how close they were to the ocean. "This must have cost a bomb…" Kanji whispered. "How big are this company again?"

"That's…" Chie started, raising a finger and cringing slightly, "Something I should have checked."

The group, twenty or so strong by Chie's quick headcount, had gathered by a luxurious fountain at front of the estate. Leaning on its marble ledge, the martial artist tried to work out what their next move should be. The man with the clipboard appeared again, and cleared his throat. "Greetings, applicants. There will be a variety of tests and assessments throughout today, and a combination of the results of those, along with our CEO's personal preference, will decide."

This sparked an excited muttering in the crowd.

"Mitsuru Kirijo, here?" A voice breathed.

"I hear she's only 23, and running the entire group herself!" Another whispered in awe.

A romantic voice cut through the crowd. "I've heard her beauty has sparked over a dozen takeovers..."

Once again, Chie cursed herself for her lack of research, and felt invariably out of her depth. Kanji noticed her downtrodden posture, and clicked his fingers right in front of her eyes. His hand morphed into a thumbs up as she looked to him, dazed. "Be confident, alright? In it to win it, yeah?"

Brow furrowing, she nodded, with real determination as the chatter died down, and the suit resumed his speech. "Our first test is a simple combat exercise. I will call two names, and they will spar for two minutes." A few whoops were raised by the crowd, along with the smacking of fists into palms. "However, if any of you feel that the use of underhanded tactics will ensure victory, I would like to remind you that the Kirijo group is a very honourable organisation, an part of our culture we take _very_ seriously." He looked down to his sheet. "Now, Miki Nazahura and Kanji Tatsumi, please step forwards."

Kanji and Chie looked at each other, not expecting to begin so quickly. The boy remained rooted on the spot, forcing Chie to literally shove him out of the crowd, with no time for any words of encouragement. Stumbling over to the suit, he sized up his opponent, standing ready on the dusty floor. He was relieved to find he still had a height advantage, but not nearly as much as he was used to, and the guy didn't have a ton of muscle; he had a real chance. His main worry was the his stance; wide and with a low centre of balance, he had obviously had training, whereas Kanji himself hadn't been in a street fight for years, and his supernatural adventures hadn't ever developed his skills in bareknuckle boxing.

"Two minutes." The suit stated, signalling the end of Kanji's contemplative preparation. "Begin."

The crowd began to cheer, jeer, and unsettle from the moment they were off, the shorter man wasting no time in closing the distance and throwing a quick jab at the tailor's solar plexus. Doubling over in pain, he didn't even have time to cry out before a vicious kick sent him to the floor. Vision blurry, and a dribble of red pooling out into the gravel in front of him, Kanji could only think to himself _'I'm done'. _And then he heard a menacing scream from the crowd, crying "Get the hell back up Moronji!"

He'd always _hated_ that name.

Getting some purchase with his palms, he got to his knees, seeing his opponent had taken to riling up their audience, figuring the fight was won, pointing and laughing at the boy on the ground. Angry now, seeing a shade of red that he hadn't for a long time, he exploded out of his crouch, charging to the asshole and grabbing his waist, before lifting up his whole body and slamming him straight onto the ground.

A silence meant everyone heard the bone crunching impact clearly, which was subsequently rewarded with approving claps and cheers. Kanji took a couple steps back, and snarled at his writhing opponent, daring him to get up. He took the challenge, finding his feet, and looking a lot less composed than before, his previous battle-stance forgotten. The two men strode towards each other, raising their fists, and immediately started exchanging blows in the centre. Kanji worked entirely on instinct, dodging some punches, and deflecting others, but mostly just absorbing the quicker strikes of his adversary, all the while knocking him back with his slower, harder hitting ones. The man was being worn down, and tried a sweep kick, which Kanji roughly batted away with his foot. Seeing his opportunity, he bent down and grabbed the man's thighs, straining his legs until he was standing straight, grunting from the pain the guy was showering all over his back. In a quick movement, he threw his cargo over his back, not even looking as he crashed to the ground, leaving a streaky red track where he had scraped through the landing.

"Time." The suit announced, looking at his watch. "Our next opponents are…"

Not at all appreciating the fact he had pretty much won, Kanji stumbled back to the fountain, being clapped on the back by his fellow applicants, with a few 'holy shits' and a 'how old even are you?' thrown in for good measure. Finding Chie, he shot her a dopey smile before dunking his head into the cool water of the fountain. Staying for a while in refreshing liquid, he let himself sink to the floor, back the marble and looking up at Chie. "How'd I do?"

His friend ummm'd and ahhh'd playfully. "Not your best, very scruffy, in fact I'd say- Ah who am I kidding," she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet, "you threw that guy like, ten feet, it was awesome!" They both were grinning wildly, a moment perhaps ruined by the cheering of the bloodthirsty crowd, the second bout already underway. While Chie would have loved to watch, she noticed the cut on his temple was still slowly oozing blood. "C'mon, we need to get you patched up."

He shook his head, looking over to the new fight excitedly. "Nah, don't worry about it, I feel fine! Let's just watch these guys go at it."

Chie grabbed his wrist firmly. "It's a head injury dude, we have to check you aren't concussed or something."

Kanji still wasn't convinced. "The other guy isn't getting' a doctor. What if it's part of the test, y'know, like, bearing through it?"

"Kanji, there's being macho, and there's being dumb. Don't be dumb." He relinquished control to her, where she dragged the pair of them too the suit to ask for a first aid kit.

"Hmm," he pondered, passively watching the kickboxing match between the current two contenders, "The maids are all versed in emergency aid, find one of them inside." She nodded, but before they could leave, he looked down to his notes. "I'll have to put you in last Miss Satonaka; don't be late."

Nodding, the pair of them strode towards the huge doors of the mansion, the sounds of the brawl fading with each passing step.

* * *

**AN- **Three chapter dump time! So keep on reading, suspense be damned! - _WN_


	3. A New Friend

The inside of the residence was even grander its outside, every surface polished and cleaned, with greenery tastefully and symmetrically dotted around the place, not to mention the no-doubt priceless art that littered the walls. "Wow," Chie whispered, "We'd be working here?"

The tailor was more occupied with the intricately patterned rug on the floor. "Shit," he resolved, "we have to get this job now."

Chie smiled reassuringly. "You certainly did your half. You looked great out there!" The smile was returned, along with the reminder her friend was still bleeding, and she realised she didn't quite know where to find one of the maids. "Uh, hello?" She called. "A little help?"

"Ahm comin', ahm comin'." As if by magic, a shock of strange blue-grey (Chie flinched) hair came tumbling out of a door, surprising Chie and Kanji the most by wearing an actual maid outfit, frilly white apron an all. The stranger sped over to them, stopping in her tracks when she looked up and actually saw the half-bloodied pair. "Shucks. New people." Moving more slowly, and almost elegantly, almost, she dipped into a deep curtsey, and greeted the pair. "Hello. I am Labrys, one of Mitsuru-san's many maids. How may I assist you?"

Slightly dumbfounded by the sudden disappearance of the girl's strange accent, Chie meekly gestured at her friend's forehead, all the while trying to ignore the grey her hair kept seeming to shift to. "Just look at him."

The maid retained her newly stoic expression. "Hmm. I can see the problem. Come with me." They followed her, not entirely certain of what just happened, pacing through lavish corridor after lavish corridor. "So," the maid started, a strange pitch to her voice, "If I may humbly ask, what da hell- I mean, whatever," she tried again, visibly chiding herself, "could have caused such an injury?"

Again, the pair were confused by the sudden tonal shift. "Uhh, you don't have to talk like that if you want." Kanji said uncertainly. "We won't tell on you or nuthin'."

"Really?" The girl asked, a cheerfulness finally edging into her voice. "Thank god, ya see, I gotta be all like that in case someone important comes along, but it's really hard, and they all end up bein' so borin'…"

"Are you saying we're not important?" Chie joked, feeling much more at ease now the girl was losing her roboticisms.

"Well, you don't look it, no offense," she replied, ushering them through a door, "But you definitely aren't boring. You get in a scrap or something?"

Chie and Kanji were surprised to find themselves in what looked like a proper hospital room, complete with sterile walls, beds, and curtains, the maid scouring through a cupboard for the right supplies. It made Kanji a little uncomfortable, but Chie chattered on regardless. "Yeah, we're applying for the security job and they're making us fight to show how good they are."

The blue-haired girl snapped to face them. "Really? That sounds so cool! But kinda horrible…" She resumed her rummaging. "Didn't even know we had an openin'," she sighed, "Nobody tells me nuthin'. But why that job? Hell, you look like you're only around my age... Where are you even from?" She laid her equipment on a bed and held up a hand. "Wait, let's do a proper introduction, not that crap like before." She smiled and waved happily. "Hiya, I'm Labrys, and I work here. What about you?"

Chie returned her gestures. "Hi, I'm Chie Satonaka, and this is Kanji Tatsumi. We're from Inaba, and we want to work here!"

Labrys gestured to Kanji getting the boy to sit on the bed. She tilted her head and inspected the wound. "It ain't that deep, you'll be fine. Lemme check your eyes…" Grabbing his face rather forcefully and peering deep into his pupils, she moved away satisfied. "Ya all good. Just gonna stitch it up, alright?" He nodded, and she got to work. "Inaba, you said? Never heard of it."

"Really?" At the academy, admittedly not that far afield, everyone pestered her about the murder case. "The murders must've get much coverage up here."

"Murder?"

"Ow!" Kanji jolted, not ready for the suture piercing his skin.

"Aw, hush you." The medic babied harshly, looking back to Chie. "A murder happened where you came from?"

"Murders," the martial artist corrected, "But yeah, we're a really small town so it kinda shocked us. Took a whole year for us- uh, I mean," she backtracked hastily, "the cops to catch the killer."

Kanji tried to help cover his friend, laughing nervously. "Yeah, she says 'us' all the time 'cus she's a cop now. It's kinda lame."

Chie raised a thumbs up, approving of her friend's quick thinking, and elegantly segued into a change of topic. "Ha, yeah, I'm a cop. At least, until I get this job I am."

"That's pretty cool," Labrys chattered, "I know a cop. Well, sometimes he is, sometimes he ain't…" She trailed off, and directed her next question at her patient. "What are you then?"

"Oh, I help with my Ma's textile shop." he said candidly, having long gotten past the stage of having to be coy about his profession. "I'll prolly run the place someday."

Labrys did looked surprised to hear about the bloodied boy's real profession, but to her credit, didn't point that out. She moved away, his wound cleaned and closed. "That's cool. So then, if you were both set up at home, why do you wanna work here?"

Kanji still wasn't entirely sure what his answer to that question was. Because he didn't want to be in Inaba his entire life? Because Naoto, (_'Damn, _he thought, _gone so long without thinkin' bout her as well'_) wanted some information? Because Chie needed a friend with her? "Uhh," he droned automatically.

"It's a long story," Chie stepped in, not even remotely willing to delve into how much she needed to leave town. "What about you, do you live on this island?"

"Well, yeah, I guess but…" She laughed, embarrassed. "This is gonna sound totally weird to a couple strangers, but it's totally true, ya hear?" They both nodded, privately knowing whatever weird truth she was about to tell them, they had experienced weirder. "Okay, well, the doctors tell me I have amnesia. I just woke up in a hospital on the mainland an' couldn't remember anything from before, 'cept my name. 'Course, still got the accent, but that never helped me narrow things down…" It didn't help Kanji or Chie either. Her voice was strange, cheerfully urban, and like nothing they had ever heard before. "Anyway," she carried on, "apparently Mitsuru takes pity on me and gives me this job, and the place to stay. Apparently my parents worked for her company or something?" She shrugged. "That's my story. It's kinda sad, I've only got a couple years' worth of my life to chat about, and it's all me workin' here."

The room went uneasily quiet, the pair finding it hard to form a response suitable for such a tragic tale. "That's cool," Kanji tried, his voice perhaps a tad too light hearted, "I can't barely remember what I ate for breakfast." A pin dropped, and his face grew sullen. "Shit. I never had any breakfast…"

Their new friend found his serious demeanour too funny, which made it easy for Chie to join in the laughter. Kanji ignored the two of them, wistfully thinking of all the snacks he should have brought, the animal crackers he could have been eating. His head slumped, as the mirth from the girls devolved into simple giggles. "Oh boy," Chie tittered, wiping a tear from her eye, conveniently ignoring her own hunger. "That was too good." She looked at Labrys, and began to think of her benefactor. "Say, Labrys?"

The still smiling girl looked up to her. "Yeah?"

"How is Mitsuru? As a boss I mean, considering she'll be ours too soon." She added, holding up crossed fingers.

She thought for a few moments. "Good I guess. Polite. A little distant, always busy, but prolly comes with the whole 'CEO of a multinational corporation' thing. She's away from here a lot, but to be honest, I'm never sure what she's up to."

"Alright," Chie nodded, "What about the other people working here?"

"Fuuka's nice." She said immediately. "Hang out with her a lot, but again, she's always working. She's a researcher or something, got a whole lab underneath here," she added, tapping the ground with her foot. "She's one of Mitsuru-san's old school friends, a lot of them come visit. Akihiko especially comes by every so often, he's the cop I talked about. He's smart, but very brawny, if you catch my drift?" Chie looked over to Kanji, still dejected over his lack of food, and decided she didn't. "The other grunt workers are okay I guess. Gardeners are pretty much all old sticks, drivers are mostly silent, and the other maids are all prissy as hell. To be honest, leaves me kinda lonely half the time…" She looked between the pair optimistically. "But you guys are really cool, you have to get this job! We can like, hang out all the time, and get paid for it!"

While Chie liked the obviously sheltered girl, she couldn't help but feel she was pinning a lot of hopes on the two of them. "That sounds great Labrys, but the competition's pretty fierce…"

"Competition, scheompetition, I'll just put a good word in with the boss. In fact…" She wondered, a good idea spreading across her face, "Follow me!"

With little other option, seeing as they'd be lost if they were on their own in the maze of the mansion, they joined her, speeding along, with the maid unable to contain her excitement over whatever scheme she had just concocted. Finding themselves in front of a door, Labrys pushed her way through, without even bothering to knock.

The office was big, spacious, and almost too classy. The décor was wooden, business like, with a large painting on the wall of a one eyed man dominating the room. A set of sofas and a coffee table were ready for informal meetings with familiar clients, whereas the desk, with two hard seats in front of it, was where the real power lay, and at this moment, was sitting in her chair. Mitsuru Kirijo, with her presence almost regal, was reading documents, in a red blouse that somehow was the perfect contrast for her hair, and as far as Kanji could tell, was made from the finest silk he had ever seen. The CEO never even looked up from the paper in front of her. "What did we say about knocking, Labrys?"

The maid pouted. "Sorry, I just got excited is all. I want you to meet some people."

Mitsuru finally looked up, seeming utterly unsurprised to have two unknown teenagers inside one of the most powerful offices in the world. "Hmm. And who are they?"

Her voice was so commanding, it had the opposite effect, leaving Chie and Kanji a too intimidated to reply. Labrys however, felt no such fear. "They're Chie-chan and Kanji-kun. They're going for the security job-post-opening; whatever it is."

Mitsuru studied them for a few seconds. "I see. And why did you feel the need to bring them forward?"

"Because I think they should get the job!" Labrys announced, making the pair of them feel even more uncomfortable. "I really like them, and apparently Kanji here's already laid out one guy today." She beamed at Mitsuru, apparently proud of her argument. "So, whaddya say?"

The redhead woman smiled, but it was one of pity, lacking real warmth. "Labrys, they will be considered like all the other applicants, based on their aptitude during the selection process. Your input is… Welcomed, but of little consequence." The three in front of her all shrunk at little at that harsh assessment, Kanji and Chie feeling their new friend's intervention was not doing them any favours. "Now, Labrys, I'm assuming your laundry duties are all taken care of?" She asked, with a smug air that was well practiced.

The maid almost jumped at that reminder of her duties. "Crap!" She turned to her new friends. "I gotta run now or the head maid is gonna kill me. I swear that's literal, I haven't seen the new girl for weeks!" She rushed to the door, halfway through when she turned back, with a wistful gaze. "I'll um," she said quietly, "See you guys later, alright?"

The pair nodded, Kanji holding up his hand in farewell. "See ya soon, ya hear?"

Smiling, she sped off down the corridor, leaving the two hopefuls in front of their prospective boss, the most intimidating woman they had ever met, mortal at least. "I'm sorry about her," Mitsuru started, before they could even think about leaving, "She can be very energetic. That's not the impression of the company I want to leave on a professionals like yourselves." She saw the casual clothes they were wearing, and internally revised that judgement. "At any rate, you should return to my assistant. He's-"

She stopped, noticing something, and focussed hard between the two newcomers, who began squirming in their shoes. Kanji took the easy option and stared at the desk, noticing for the first time the strange miniatures that sat on the desk, a thin knight with a rapier, a bandaged girl with a ball for legs, an emperor with the world in his hands, among others. He had never seen anything like them, but they were all very familiar somehow. Before he could think this through some more, a voice brought him back to reality.

"Very interesting…" The CEO murmured. She reverted to her previous demeanour, but with a small, sly smile. "Take a left, then a right, and you should find yourselves at the entrance of this mansion. I'm sure that the interview has been carrying on without you," she added pointedly, "and I imagine you wouldn't want to be missed."

"Crap!" Suddenly remembering she still had to fight, Chie jolted upright and headed for the door, dragging Kanji with her. "Uh, thank you, Kirijo-san!" She spluttered, as respectfully as she could

Mitsuru silently wished them good luck as they left. She wasn't sure how Labrys had done it, but she had managed to highlight the two most interesting applicants of the batch. She knew would have to keep an eye on those two. Bored of reading, she stood up and smoothed her skirt. It was time to take a closer look at her new security team.

* * *

**AN- **Yup, this fic has added Labrys! To reiterate- Arena never happened here, but who knows what I can throw in! - _WN_


	4. A Final Boss

The two applicants sped down the hallways, not sure how much time they had to get to her bout. "Man," Kanji exhaled, still thinking of his, he hoped, soon to boss. "She's intense."

"Yeah," Chie agreed, pushing through the door back to the courtyard, "Guess that's why she runs the place."

Luckily for them, the other candidates were still gathered together by the fountain. Unfortunately, even from a distance, they could see the suit was tapping his foot _very_ impatiently, and even worse for Chie, the absolutely gigantic brute next to him looked like her opponent. Feeling the judgement of the other applicants as they made their way to the crowd, Kanji could only whisper "This totally ain't fair."

Of course, Chie only took this as a challenge. "Alright, I bet you I'll take this guy down, without ending up on the floor like you did." Nodding to her friend, who looked both incredulous and scared on her behalf, she took her place opposite her opponent.

"Right on time," the suit droned sarcastically, earning a good response from the crowd. The green clad girl used the opportunity to eye up her opponent, beginning to hop on the balls of her feet exactly as she always trained. The tallest of all the applicants, and perhaps the thickest, she would never beat him in a contest of raw strength. This had to be all about technique. "Chie Satonaka and Tono Miziguwa. Begin."

Learning first hand from Kanji's experience that it wasn't a good idea to give your opponent the first move, she immediately took a run up to her opponent, exploding into a flying kick. Considering the height of her adversary however, she essentially just kicked off the solid wall of mass that was his chest. Landing with a bend in her knees, she looked up to see the round-faced monster stretching a wicked smile across his face. Striding slowly towards her, she decided to change tack, rolling backwards to restore some distance between them, and beginning to strafe around in a circle, looking for an opening.

The giant kept to his spot, happy to wait for his opponent to make her move. She kept her eyes up and down, looking up and down for an opening, which just wouldn't seem to present itself. She tried another assault, this time on her favourite target, running into a slide down between his legs and trying to aim an upwards kick, but again, her height proved an issue, with little connection, and little damage. Coming out the other side, she sprang back on her feet, cursing her slight stature not for the first time in her life, and resumed her strafing, determined to find a way to bring the guy down.

Kanji meanwhile watched the whole scene like a worried mother, wringing his hands and desperately looking at his watch. Sure, he'd seen Chie go through fights which were literally life and death, but everything takes a new light in the real world, rather than the distortion of the TV. He sidled over to the suit, and tried to make a case. "It's been two minutes, right?"

The man sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Tatsumi-san, these two have not shown me any skills or initiative. The fight will continue until I see one or the other."

Shaking his head and muttering a curse, Kanji looked onto the fight, seeing his friend in the same position as before, smart enough to know getting close would leave her the loser, while her opponent was frankly too lazy to go in for the kill. But then, Chie actually noticed her partner in the crowd, and was hit with a wave of inspiration. Moving over to him, eyes trained on the giant, she spoke low. "Stick your knee out, and get ready to lift me."

He looked down at her, completely unaware as to the mechanics of her plan. "What?"

"Just do it," she hissed. Then she raised her voice to the brute. "Hey, you! I don't get why you're so slow, since your mom was one fast bitch!" The giant wasn't so easily rattled however, and stayed in his position. She changed tack. "I guess you got something from her though, am I right, fatso?" He only snorted, cracking his knuckles. In fact, the only one whose heckles were getting raised her Chie herself. "Goddamnit," she shouted, "you're just standing there, don't you even care!?" This got the crowd on her side, who were also extremely tired of their stalemate; they wanted blood. The jeers from a group of mouths far dirtier and experienced from Chie's had the desired effect, her opponent finally looking unsure of himself. Even his own crew was begging him to get on with it. Now she went for the killer blow. "What are you?" She smiled teasingly, "Chicken?"

The man snapped, roaring as he began his charge, exactly what Chie was hoping for. She was waiting for the last possible second; the timing had to be perfect. "Now!" she cried, getting her footing on her friend's knee, and extending, barely registering Kanji's strong hands giving her a much needed few extra inches of height. All the while, her other leg was twisting, spinning into what might have been the hardest kick of its life.

And it worked. Connecting with a solid thud, foot for a second fitting around his head like a glove, the man went rigid, stunned, before crumpling straight down to the floor. Landing with the grace of a cat, Chie stood over her opponent, still combat ready, in disbelief that she managed to bring such a huge man to the deck. This time the cheering was deafening, the crowd rushing over to congratulate the petite girl, who had crushed her goliath without the need of a stone.

"Interesting," their escort noted passively, waiting for the noise to die down. Making some dramatic marks on his clipboard, he subsequently lowered it down, and addressed the applicants. "The next stage will be inside. Follow me." He walked away, leaving some confused as to what would be done about the unconscious loser. "I wouldn't worry," he remarked, not looking back, "He's clearly not what we're looking for."

Watching on a security screen deep in the core of the mansion, Mitsuru couldn't help but be impressed. To fell such an opponent in a single blow was impressive, and the teamwork they had demonstrated brought out a feeling that could only be described as nostalgic. She was convinced- they had the potential. _But what to do with it… _she pondered. She needed a consultation.

Pressing a button on her console, a blue-haired scientist appeared on one of the many screens, working diligently at her desk, before noticing her boss's face on her own monitor. "Mitsuru-senpai?"

"Yamagishi," her employer sighed, "What have I told you about using such an outdated title?"

_The same I did about you calling me 'Yamagishi', _Fuuka protested silently. "Sorry, Mitsuru-san. What do you need?"

"Another perspective." She said mysteriously. Her friend's immediate opinion was usually more valuable than the ones she produced after a few minutes of self-doubt. "Come to the security room, I'll explain there."

Perplexed to her orders, Fuuka nonetheless nodded. "Alright. I'll see you soon senpai- I mean, boss?" She hastily disconnected the call, sticking out her tongue.

Meanwhile, Kanji and Chie trotted along with the rest of the pack, at first jubilant of their success, but hunching down when they realised the atmosphere had changed. They weren't sure what it was; jealousy perhaps, or even fear, but their peers had now realised how well their younger counterparts were performing. They had been immersed in the fighting frenzy, their journey to the next stage reminded them that above all, this was a competition, and cheering on your opposition was perhaps not the best practice. This left the young pair feeling uneasy as they arrived in a more typical lobby, with a generous amount of comfortable seating on top of the modern white tiling.

The suit tapped his clipboard loudly, drawing everyone's attention. He cleared his throat. "For this next exercise, I will be talking to each of you individually, to assess your psycho- Hmm?" With his composure slipping for the first time they had seen, he placed a finger to his earpiece. "Excuse me," he apologised in an offhand manner, going to the other side of the room, but making no effort to lower his voice. "Yes? Kirijo-sama? I was just about to… Really? There are so many variables we haven't explored. If you just…" He went quiet for a few moments, perturbing all of the applicants, straining their ears, wondering if the situation was changing. "I cannot sanction this," he went on, "This is a poor- Yes, Kirijo-sama."

He promptly turned on his heels, his expression stoic, argument apparently settled. He scanned across the candidates almost casually, his eyes resting on the two youngest. "We have made our decision. Tatsumi-san and Satonaka-san can remain. Everybody else is dismissed."

The penny dropped with a moon's gravity, each of the other hopefuls taking their turns to glare at the young guns, who were completely stunned. Some thought about complaining, particularly the man Kanji had slammed to the ground, but something about his serious stature him gave them a seconds pause, which subsequently made them consider how the victors would react to their protests, and considering their earlier displays, wasn't a pleasing prospect. Slowly, they took to leaving, most respectful, but some choosing to mutter "Kirijo bitch" and "Pervert wants fuckin' kids for the eye candy" along with other such obscenities. Soon, all was left was Kanji, Chie, and the suit.

"Wow," Kanji whispered, still in shock. "They must have really screwed up the fightin' part…"

"On the contrary, Tatsumi-san," the suit disagreed tiredly, removing his glasses for the first time, "they all exhibited a much wider and more practical set of techniques that suited this position far more than anything either of you exhibited." He glanced at the pair disapprovingly. "While I am not entirely certain of our executives' motives, her word is the law of this place." Putting emphasis on the 'our', he bowed to them. "It is no matter. We are now colleagues and I shall respect that fact. My name is Tensei Takenowa. I manage this estate, and such am your immediate superior. Tomorrow, you will be working here. Later we can iron out the terms of your contracts, but first I will send for a maid to see you to your quarters." It was a lot of information to take in such a short space of time, and he had already made it to the door before they could begin to ask any questions. "One more thing." He added carefully. "Understand whatever Mitsuru-sama sees in you, I do not. I acknowledge there is potential however…" He pierced their eyes deeply with his own. "My respect must be earned. I hope you do not disappoint me."

Only just managing to bow before he disappeared from their sight, the victorious pair turned one another, smiles slowly growing across their faces, realising what they had accomplished. "We got the job?" Chie asked, her disbelief still going strong.

Kanji looked around, feeling like he had to check. "No-one else here, so it looks like it, don't it?" They finally celebrated, breaking into whoops, cheers, and a firm embrace, leaping around in a circle. All the while, Mitsuru watched on from her security room, somewhat surprised a pair who could so effectively break down an entirely intimidating opponent were also capable of such a childish display.

"Who are they?" A quiet voice asked. Fuuka had such a small presence it was sometimes hard to notice when she entered a room. Moving closer to the screen, a curious expression expanded onto her features. "And why are they… dancing?"

Her boss chuckled. "They are, as of now, our new security team. This is what I suppose you could call a victory dance."

"I… See…" She peered closer at the couple, but quickly back to her friend. "So, what did you need my opinion on?"

"Come now, Fuuka," Mitsuru chided lightly, "I know you're working your mind well in the lab, but not at the expense of your other skills, I hope?"

_Other skills? _She thought, slightly ticked by her friend's cryptic manner, but at the same time more than willing to play her game. "Hmm…" It took a moment of self-reflection for her to hit something deep inside that was very familiar, and once she hit that part of herself, she could feel her world expand, an extra sensation pulsing through the floors and walls of the building until- "Oh!" She gasped.

"_Tres bien_." Mitsuru remarked, nodding once in approval. "Yes, they are persona-users. An unexpected bonus from security opening, that's for sure."

The blue haired girl's eyes widened. "But… Wait… How?"

"I'm not sure," Mitsuru admitted, "They came into my office with Labrys. At first, I thought the strange aura was the usual that emanates from her, but when she left the atmosphere remained unchanged…"

_Labrys… _Fuuka how to wonder how her cheerful little friend was involved, but the arrival of actual human persona-users was a far more interesting conundrum. "What else do you know?"

"At present, little. I can tell they know how to use their power; their moves are far too improvised, like they've spent their time fighting opponents larger and more varied than a human can be."

"Are you saying they've already fought shadows?" Fuuka scratched her head, not at all ready for this development. "Surely we would have already found them if they had a connection with the dark hour…"

"I agree, and with its elimination, what shadow incursion could have pushed them to evoke?" She turned back to the pair through the glass, scrutinising every inch of the goofy looking pair. "Their aura is nothing like what we felt from Strega, and we haven't ever misplaced something from our technology department that could have such an effect…" She hummed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "They must have developed their power somewhere, but where, how…"

A silence hung heavy in the air, the pair of them racking their brains for an explanation. "…What should we do?" Fuuka asked finally.

Mitsuru pursed her lips. "As of present, I'm not sure. However, they did come here for our security posting, and they seemed capable enough for the task. Labrys especially took a real shine to them, and I know how isolated she can feel, so perhaps some company would be beneficial..." She scratched her chin. "And considering our line of work, their gifts may become invaluable." She nodded, having made her decision. "Make sure they're well monitored. We need data. Find out where they came from and look for anomalies. If that pair have managed to develop personas outside of the group's knowledge, there might be others, and a whole dimension of research we never even considered."

"Couldn't we just ask them?" The question came out of her mouth before she could think, and Mitsuru responded with a cold hard stare.

"Yamagishi-" She paused, remembering her manners. "Fuuka. We know nothing about these people. If they came from a situation remotely like Strega's, they could be an immediate threat if provoked. They came here of their own free will, and considering their," she thought back to them, standing small in her office, "Attitude, I doubt they have any machinations at present."

"Exactly," Fuuka argued, "If they're not a threat, why can't we tell them about us, and the shadow operatives?"

"Because I don't trust them." She replied simply. "Not yet. They're young, and most likely because of that, irresponsible. I'd rather not inform them of the wider issues in combatting shadows until we can be certain they can be useful, and not just blabber about us on the internet."

Fuuka could see she was making sense, but she wasn't too pleased about being so underhanded. "I'll set up the recording equipment in their quarters by the end of the day," she accepted uneasily, "And I'll talk to Takenowa-san about their work assignments. If they patrol the lab on a regular basis, maybe they'll say something interesting."

Mitsuru nodded slowly. "Excellent plan, but what if they recognise the equipment? We can't reveal our hand until the time is right."

Looking again at the pair on the screen, she made a quick judgement. "I'll make sure it's the man. He doesn't seem like the type to notice that sort of thing."

"Wonderful. Make sure you scour Labrys' memory banks from now on, I can see her forming an attachment with the woman." Now Fuuka felt a pang of guilt. Treating the maid like they did already was horrible enough, but to pry through her memories? "Business is going to keep me away," her boss continued, seemingly unaware of her ethical dilemma, "but keep me informed. Who knows what these two are capable of?"

Fuuka nodded, and left her friend to her numerous devices. She couldn't help but think her two new subjects, one tall, and the other much shorter. She could tell they had a certain strength, her power extending her reach in ways she still found surprising, and somehow, had a good feeling about them. What concerned her was their youth- they were kids, or close enough for it to matter, and while she knew from personal experience how irrelevant that can be when the going got really tough, she felt sorry the world they would now be mixed up in, of shadows, of pain, and inevitably, of loss.

* * *

**AN- **Hoorah, they got the job, who'dve thought? Tell me what you think so far, this pretty much covers the setup of the fic. Now I've gotta work on taking it somewhere. I'm already pretty happy; this has way more actual action than my other fics already! As always, thanks for reading! - _WN_


	5. Phoning Home

Time became a bit of a blur for Chie. One moment she had knocked someone out with a single kick, the next it turned out she had got the job she'd become so desperate for, and at some point Labrys had walked into the room and sparked off a new round of celebration. The maid had begun to prattle to her and her partner about how great their rooms were, and how they were right next to hers, and about how the next year was just gonna be _so fun_! Chie nodded when it seemed appropriate, and even smiled a few times, but she was far too overwhelmed to pay any real attention.

They now worked here. They didn't have to go home. They were gonna get paid and then at the end of the year she could use the money to move to a city, where the police force would have to accept her on the strength of the reference she would get here. She'd done what she set out to do. Surely, it would be smooth sailing from this point. She just had to keep her head down, be the best security guard she could be, and see the year out.

"And here they are!" Labrys' singsong voice broke her silent soliloquy, and she snapped to attention. "They're both the same, so you can pick whatever!" She laughed. "Now, I still got a lotta work to do today," she carried on, walking away from the pair, "But I'll see you two tonight, ya hear?"

Waving her a weak farewell, the two old friends looked at the door, trying to ignore their respective senses of apprehension. "I guess this is where we're stayin' for the year…" Kanji said timidly.

Chie could only muster a weak response. "Yeah…" She concurred. An uneasy silence blossomed, both unwilling to take the first step into their new room.

Fortunately, practicality forced Kanji to act. "Uh, my ribs're still hurtin' a little and I'm pretty tired, Im'ma catch some shut eye. Give Ma a call actually..."

_Crap. I've got a call to make too, _the girl thought. "That's a good idea, Kanji-kun." She smiled tiredly, and grasped the doors' handle. "You've earned some rest."

"Thanks," he replied, a slight blush on his cheeks, "Uh, you too." With a pair of nods, they took their leave of each other, and stepped into their new living space.

Inside, Chie wasn't hugely impressed, though she knew it was probably the grandeur of the rest of the mansion throwing off her frame of reference. It was still much bigger than her old room, with the bed in the centre much more luxurious than her usual futon. The problem was the décor, which followed the same shiny white marble that followed the rest of the mansion, from the walls to the floor. For Chie, that wasn't the kind of thing she wanted in a room. She wanted a comfortable carpet, lots of colours, movie posters everywhere, and most importantly, all her stuff.

Kirijo's people had worked fast; her bag was already on the bed, brought from the car that had taken them here. She couldn't help but think it looked a little small in the oppressive blankness of the bedroom. Taking a walk around, she discovered what she thought was part of the wall was actually the entrance of the dresser, a darkness of empty space that she'd never fill in a thousand lifetimes. _Rise would love this, _she thought to herself. Thinking of her glamorous friend brought her to the window, where she found an equally glamorous view. Being on one of the higher floors, she saw the top of the canopy that circled the estate, but more tantalising, the ocean beyond, and a crescent of the sparkling beach at its foot.

She allowed herself to just stare for what felt like a long while, her mind growing completely blank. But responsibilities were calling, and while one of them wasn't particularly present, they had to be done. Pulling out her cell, she sat on the windowsill, and dialled home.

Talking to her dad was easy, a lot of 'I'm very proud of you' and 'you seriously took that guy down?' She wasn't surprised, he had been very enthusiastic when she had eventually revealed her hair brained scheme. Calling her mom proved to be more difficult than she expected. There were a lot of tears, and some long winded speech about her baby flying the nest that she wasn't prepared for. But soon they ran out of things to talk about, and they gave up on the conversation, each promising to call as soon as they could. Now she had the difficult one. Quitting her old job.

The other end of the line began to ring, and far too quickly, the phone was picked up. "Detective Dojima, speaking."

Chie exhaled, and began her resignation. "Er," she started nervously, "Heya sir!"

He knew that voice, forcing itself to be far too casual. "Satonaka? Where have you been, you've used up all of your sick days, you realise…"

She rolled her eyes. _Always by the book… _"I realise that sir, though, that's not going to be an issue."

"Good," Dojima said seriously, "So you better be at work bright and early tomorrow."

The martial artist laughed in a way quietly hysterical. "Um, the thing is, sir, I'm sort of not in town right now."

This surprised the older man. "Really? Then where the hell are you?"

"Yakushima." She quickly explained her employment scheme, with a lot of emphasis on the fact she already had the job. "I thought this would be the best-"

"Well it wasn't." Her former boss replied, making her flinch. "Why didn't you talk to me about this, I could've…" His voice became quieter, turned away from the speaker, "Nanako, I'm busy…"

"Starting her off young in the office, dontcha think?" Chie commented, trying to steer away from the earful he would be no doubt wanting to deliver.

"It's bring your daughter to work day and-" He sighed. "She wants to talk."

Now this Chie definitely wasn't prepared for. Certainly she loved Nanako dearly, everyone did, but even seeing her made things far too painful. "Chie-chan?" A cute little voice asked through her phone's speaker.

"Hey, Nanako-chan," she replied shakily, "How's school?"

"Oh, school's great! We started doing English and it's really hard, all the words are funny! What are you doing big sis!"

Chie froze. "… Nanako-chan, can you not call me that?"

The girl giggled, a noise that seemed to scratch through Chie's eardrums. "But you are my big sis! Just like Naoto-kun and Rise-chan and Yuki-"

_That's the whole problem, _she thought bitterly_. _"Uh, Nanako-chan, I've got to talk to your dad about grown-up stuff, can we talk another time?"

"Oh… Okay…" The little girl's dejected voice broke Chie's heart, and she rubbed her eyes in frustration as she heard the phone being passed over.

"Great," the elder Dojima said tiredly "now I've gotta cheer her up."

"I'm sorry," Chie apologised, rapping her knuckles on her forehead, "It's just-"

"Look," Dojima sighed, long and drawn out. "I know you didn't like working here, and it's pretty obvious why. I don't know the details, but if you've gone that far away, you must have needed it." She could her him tapping his desk, trying to find the words. "What I mean is, you're an adult. And you did work well with me, when you wanted. So what I'm saying is, good luck. I hope you get what you need down there."

She had never heard the man be so heartfelt, aside from when it came to his daughter, and could only stutter out her response. "T-t-thank you, sir."

"Alright. Tell Tatsumi the same, would you? I knew there was something useful that punk could do with his ability to bash heads."

She laughed weakly. "I will. Thanks again sir!" She hit the red button on her keypad, and went back to staring out of the window. With that out of the way, bar a few compulsory calls to her family, she never had to think of home again. Leaning back, she wondered if she could finally feel at peace here.

In the next room, Kanji had his own family to think of. Lying on his new bed, he found his home number in his contacts. Circling the call button for a few moments, he resigned himself to a dull conversation, and pressed it down.

"Kanji-chan?"

It had been picked up almost instantly. _Shoulda called her when we touched down, _he berated himself. "Hey Ma," he greeted, not bothering to put any kind of cheer in his voice, "How's the shop?"

"Well, it hasn't burnt to the ground in the couple of days you've been gone." She joked wryly. Her voice took a serious edge. "I know you're an adult now dear, but when your moving away for the first time I expect you to call me more often."

Kanji sighed. "I know Ma. Tired after the flight, forgot."

"It's just you know I worry…"

"I know Ma."

"Even though you're so very strong I don't have to…"

He groaned. "I know Ma."

"And I know that Chie-chan is very strong too. Is she looking after you?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "No Ma, I can take care of myself, alright?" He tried to accelerate the course of the conversation. "Anyway, we got here safe Ma. Real nice place, you'd like it, and everythin's lookin' pretty sound…"

"That's wonderful, Kanji." He could hear the faint sound of knitting needles clicking, which A: ticked him off by reminding him he neglected to bring his own set, and B: made him feel horribly homesick. "No problems to speak of?" She asked innocently.

Considering her stance on the practiced punishment he gave out to some borderline illegal biker thugs, he knew his actions during the impromptu interview were probably best left out of proceedings. "Nope. We just got here, shook hands with a suit, and we're set up. All cool."

His mother sighed. "I can tell when you're lying son-"

Misguidedly sensing condescension in her voice, Kanji got slightly riled. "Listen you old bat, I'm telling-"

"But as long as you're okay that's all that matters." She finished, well versed in ignoring her son's outbursts. "Now, I'm not expecting you to call every night, but I'd like it if you kept me informed. Okay?"

He rolled to his side, feeling small in a way that could only be done by his mother. "Okay Ma…"

"Good. Now, work hard, and be safe." She paused for a moment. "Your father would be so proud of you." The throwaway comment struck Kanji, and once again, he found himself hanging from his father's last words to him. "And don't forget," she continued regardless, "you can always, always come home. Don't neglect your needlework. I love you," she signed off.

"Love ya too…" He mumbled, disconnecting the call. He had been reminded both of how he wasn't ready to strike out on his own, and how much he needed too. _But a man needs to stand on his own two feet,_ he reminded himself, letting his phone drop on the mattress, soon followed by his head to the pillow.

While not exactly sleeping easy, Kanji was an easy sleeper, gently falling into that strange oscillation between consciousness and trance without ever needing even a hint of exhaustion. By the time his senses had slowly returned to him, he could already see a bright moon casting shadow through his window, and a scatter of stars, even brighter than they were in his small town. Getting to his feet groggily, he appreciated his room's view as Chie did before him, only now, everything was dominated by the eerie blue of night, no doubt accentuated by the sea that dominated the horizon.

And of course with that colour, there was only one person on his mind.

He had to call her. He never called her. She never called him. But, he was so far away, there wasn't any real harm in such an act, was there?

His body acted before his brain had a hope of processing it, and he held the speaker tight to his ear. "Naoto Shirogane, speaking. Whom is calling?"

He hadn't heard that voice in so long; still serious, but much more relaxed from when he had first known her. He wasn't exactly sure what his crude, gruff growl should say in response. "Uh, hey Naoto."

"Yes, we've established that, but I asked who-" She stopped, old memories finally overtaking her usual protocols. "Kanji-kun. I apologise, I must not be up to date with your cell number."

"Nah, it's cool," he waved off, trying not to think about how she never needed his new one, "You got it now, right?"

"Indeed…" She trailed off, and neither of them spoke, Kanji gripping his phone tighter and tighter without even realising. "Why is it that you've called?" The detective asked finally.

"Oh, uh, I guess…" He squeezed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. _You've known her for years, this should be easy already. _"Uh, just wanted to say me and Chie are in, you know?"

"'In'?" Naoto repeated, with a curious tone that only confused Kanji. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I-uh… With the Kirijo job, I mean. We both got it." He felt an uncomfortable clamminess in his hands.

"Kirijo jobs?" He could just imagine her incredulous expression. "Kanji-kun, I have no idea what you're talking about."

His stomach sank, but he stuck with his story. "You know, Chie told me. About you wanting some dirt or info on these people or whatever, so we got this job." He began to realise how insane it sounded, a detective as strict as her breaking the law, for information on an incident which was resolved three years ago. "That's what you wanted, right?" He added helplessly.

The other end of the line was silent for a few moments. "…Kanji-kun," she began finally, "I'm not sure what Chie-senpai has told you, but I should not be considered a motivating factor for whatever position you have achieved." He sat on his bed, feeling slightly stumped. One of the key reasons for him moving out here was, in fact, a huge lie. "While I am, ah, flattered," she tried uselessly, "That you considered that, I am not particularly desperate for information. Anecdotes from fellow employees perhaps, or some hearsay worth pursuing…" She stopped herself before she let her imagination run too wild. "But, nevertheless, I feel your reasoning behind this move was slightly flawed."

A weak "Oh," was all Kanji could muster initially. Then, he quickly scrambled to cover himself. "Ah well, job still pays good, locations great, and I was kind of getting tired of sewing anyway."

Knowing her friend's passion for the art, Naoto couldn't believe that for one second. "Really?"

"Really," he lied. "Enough on me," he said, clumsily changing topics, "What's detecting been like lately?"

Though the question surprised her, she answered it anyway. "Oh, well, I have undertaken quite a few interesting cases since we last spoke. Just last month there was the strange circumstance of a man left dead with the only incongruous feature being the brand of tea he had drank that morning…"

From that point, Kanji steeled himself for listening to a thousand stories he wouldn't really understand, but needing to pay just the right amount of attention, enough to ask the right questions. It wasn't horrible for him, Naoto was an excellent story teller after all, but it was an experience that always left him feeling hallow, hearing grand tales of mystery and intrigue, starring the woman he so badly wanted, thousands of miles away.

* * *

_AN- _Another chapter, fleshing everything out. Merry Christmas to all you guys in internet-land! -_WN_


	6. First Day on the Job

"…So you're telling me you have no security plan?"

Chie and Kanji squirmed in their seats. They were risen by one of the maids- not Labrys, but an old, stern face, who with an impatient look, sent each of them to their wardrobes, where they found a whole set of appropriate work attire, black, white, and professional. Once their outfits were thrown on, they were taken to the meeting room, where Tensei sat waiting for them. Currently, his fingers were bridged, while his elbows rested on the desk, his hunched posture clearly showing his displeasure. "We just got here-" Kanji started.

Their superior held up his hand, sighing. "I suppose it could be argued that without a proper knowledge of the building and beyond, you wouldn't have been able to make an assessment…" The pair in front of him nodded desperately, as he pulled a set of blueprints out of his briefcase. Laying them neatly on the table, he placed a marker by their side, and looked up expectantly. "Make whatever arrangements you wish. The safety of the other employees is paramount, however, the facility we house below ground is also filled with incredibly valuable equipment, and as such, a regular patrol down there would be preferred."

Unsure, the new hires squinted over the map, tilting their heads as they tried viewing at different angles. They had never even thought about the job requiring actual mental capacity, summarising the posting as 'security' being standing around and looking tough. Chie traced her finger slowly around one of the maps, following a dotted white line. "So this is…" she murmured.

"The boundary of the compound, yes. We expect the exterior to be as well swept as the interior." He coolly stifled a yawn, and pointed to the corner of the document. "This is the scale," he added somewhat helpfully. "As you can see, there is a lot of ground to cover."

Kanji took a look at the lines, and balked. "What!? The place is about the size of the shopping district!" He peered at the bespectacled man. "We gotta cover that every day?"

"Indeed. I remind you splitting up will be necessary to assure a satisfactory coverage." His practical advice was rewarded with blank stares, and he once again wondered what potential Mitsuru possibly saw within the two imbeciles. He tried being more direct. "If I might suggest, taking an inventory of the laboratory, which is a regular duty, will be rather time consuming, so if one of you takes that responsibility, the other will be left with enough time to cover the grounds adequately."

The two of them had their curiosity piqued at the word laboratory, which of course, meant they had to fight over it. "I guess I can take the lab work, and you outside, right Kanji?" Chie said casually.

Her partner shook his head firmly. "Nu-uh. I don't wanna have to walk that far every day. I'll take the lab."

Chie's brow furrowed. "C'mon, I got us this job, gimme this one-"

The comment provoked a sharply raised eyebrow. "You got us?!"

"Sure," she said, oblivious to his offense, "I got us inside and talking to Labrys, and I kicked that guy, and I wanted us here in the first place, so…"

"I thought this was a team effort…" The boy growled.

"It is," Chie countered, her own tone growing more aggressive, "But sometimes you have to recognise who was the MVP."

The blonde only snarled. "MVP my-"

"Enough!" Tensei had no patience left for the buffoons he had been charged with. Exhaling slowly, with the pair left in a meek silence, he removed his glasses and indicated to Kanji. "Your application says you've worked extensively at your mother's textile store, correct?" He nodded. "Therefore, you should already be well versed in the taking of an inventory, of your stock and such, yes?" He nodded again. "And you," he continued, turning his attention to Chie, "You mentioned taking a morning run, and a certain training in the martial arts?" She too, nodded quietly. "I imagine that means you have a higher level of aerobic fitness then your counterpart then," He concluded, getting too his feet. Grabbing his briefcase, he moved to the door. "I am sure you can find a resolution to your disagreement then. I expect for you to be beginning your patrols in the next hour." He was halfway through the doorway, when he stopped, shook his head, and returned for a moment. He planted his palms firmly on the table. "Listen. I do _not,_" he emphasised with a heavy hand, "have time to deal with two children running around this mansion. You _will_ be professional, and you _will _perform to my expectations, or so help me you will be on the first boat out of here, no matter what Mitsuru's feelings are. Understood?" Without even waiting for their response, he hotly made his exit. He was satisfied to know he had fulfilled Fuuka's strange request of ensuring the boy would have an extended time in the lab, but left utterly despondent as to how he was supposed to place his trust in those two young people.

The new security team sat in silence, the older man's outburst leaving them lost for words. "Guy's an asshole…" Kanji mumbled.

Chie shrugged weakly. "An asshole with a point." She moved her seat so she was facing her friend. "What's up with you this morning?"

While her concern might usually only rile him even further, he was just tired of bullshit. "I talked to Naoto," He said simply.

_Crap, _Chie thought. "Kanji-"

"Don't bother, alright?" He averted her gaze, eyes planted firmly on the table. "Look, I don't wanna talk about my shit, and you _never_ wanna talk about yours…" He looked at his partner now, eyes hard. "We're done with that crap, that's why we're here. So, yeah, I'm pissed with you, but I don't particularly, care, I guess…" He trailed off, then pulled the map on the table closer to the two of them. "I think he wants me to do the lab duty."

His partner was surprised. She didn't have to defend herself, explain her actions, or even regret what she did. She knew she had to throw Kanji a bone there. "Okay." She agreed. "I can do my outdoor sweep as my morning jog I guess. Plus the weather's nice…"

Kanji nodded. "We can switch a few weeks in, if you want."

She placed an appreciative hand on her friend's shoulder. "Cool. Guess we can say the same for whatever else we agree here."

"Alright. So, who has to sweep the top floor…"

They spent the next half hour slowly organising a schedule that would allow them a complete coverage of the compound, with a generous allowance for lunch and breaks. "So," Chie said, "Can we clock off once we've done our rounds for the day do you think?"

"Nah," Kanji replied, "Gotta look like we're working."

"Guess we can meet up," she offered, "With Labrys too! We can just hang out, hell, we could say we're 'staking out' the beach!" She said this excitedly, fingering the hyphens.

The boy's features brightened. "That'd be kickass. Not sure how much free time we'll get though…" He scratched his head. "Besides, I'm guessing we'll have to go off schedule if there's like visitors or anything."

"Oh yeah. Check they're not assassins!" She laughed, which faded quickly. "Huh. I've just realised that's literally our job." Her eyes twinkled in a manner Kanji found quite disturbing. "And if Mitsuru is as powerful as she looks, it could actually happen!"

"Careful what you wish for," her partner muttered. "What's our plan for that? Stick to Mitsuru like glue, pat people down?"

Chie tilted her head, her prior bravado replaced by a slight unease. "I guess? Hey, shouldn't we have guns?"

His brow furrowed. "_Hell_ no. That'd just make things complicated. 'Sides," he continued pointedly, "I know sure as heck you don't have your license, else you'dve been dancing around town with a piece all day."

"I didn't get that far in my training," Chie sulked. "But I'd totally be great with one! I'll ask Takenowa-san about it."

Kanji rolled his eyes. "Dude isn't gonna get us that shit, dude's too by the book. Our fists have worked pretty well so far anyway."

"Legs in my case," Chie corrected. "Y'know," she mused, "when we were applying, I kept picturing you standing as a doorman with that ridiculous looking chair in your hands."

"Hey," the tailor objected, "That thing was great! Did all sorts of damage!"

"It did," she sniggered in reply, "you still looked like a total dork though."

Her remarks were not appreciated in any way, but more to the point, it was getting close to the hour. Kanji got to his feet. "So, I guess I've gotta do my rounds.

Standing up, Chie agreed. "Yeah. Me too. See ya later I guess…" They both moved to the hallway, and each struggling to remember the building's layout, settled on going left and right respectively. "Wait," the martial artist called, Kanji turning his head back to her. "We're gonna do a good job today," she declared, raising an optimistic thumb, "And every day after, you hear?"

He nodded back with a smile, and continued on his way, knowing the key to his assignment was finding some stairs, or an elevator, anything in general that went down, seeing as the only hint he had to getting to the lab was that it was underground. His theory was good, but in practice it was more difficult to execute upon. The large stairs of lobby only went to the ground floor, and once there he found himself stuck. He trawled through the corridors of the mansion, but nothing resembling the sliding doors of the elevator became apparent, and he knew going through any of the mansions many pristine white doors could end with him interrupting somebody working, or going somewhere he shouldn't.

So his wandering continued, for a painful half hour, until a flash of blue-grey, turning a corner far away from the tailor, gave him his salvation. "Labrys-san!" He shouted as she disappeared, poking her head back round the wall to answer the call and then smiling broadly.

"Kanji-kun!" They walked towards each other, Labrys wagging a haughty finger. "Quit it with that 'san' business, I ain't your boss. How's the first day goin'?"

"Not great," he admitted. "Help me out here, I gotta find the lab, kn-"

Upon hearing the word lab, the maid clasped a hand firmly over the boy's mouth, looking around in all directions. "Keep it down, will ya?" She hissed. Releasing him, she began walking, and beckoned him to follow. "Sorry," she whispered, "Not everyone here's supposed to know about it. I honestly wasn't sure if Takenowa was gonna put you in the loop…"

Kanji's face twisted, in some confusion. "But ya mentioned it to us yesterday, when we weren't even workin' here."

"No I didn't-" She began to object, and then she remembered their conversation. "Crap." She looked up to him pleadingly. "Don't tell anyone else. Slip-up like that could get a girl fired…"

The boy's eyebrows rose. "Seriously? Is it that big a deal?"

"You got no idea dude," Labrys insisted. "It's so secret, only Fuuka-chan and Mitsuru-san know what's actually going on down there. Takenowa knows it's there, and that's about it. I don't even think the stiff cares, he ain't got an ounce of life in him."

The blunt snipe she had made at their boss made Kanji smirk. "You don't like him, do you?"

"Eh…" She answered, not bothering to hide her contempt. "He's a good boss, when he's not bein' a colossal stick in the mud I mean," She clarified. "But I dunno. I get the feelin' he doesn't have any respect for me, since I got this gig from the CEO herself. Not bein' qualified and stuff, think it really bugs the uptight so-and-so."

"I know the feeling," Kanji nodded. A thought pricked him. "So, if you're just a maid, no offense, why do you know about it? The lab I mean."

"Someone has to clean up down there," she shrugged, "Guess they figured since I'll keep quiet, owing Mitsuru-san my job an' stuff."

The statement made Kanji a little uncomfortable. _So does she feel trapped here or something? _He wondered. He shook his head. _I've known her less than a day, I'm sure things are fine._ "What goes on down there?" He asked, more for the sake distraction from his internal worries.

"Not sure. You'll see, the gadgets are just super weird. They all look pretty useless. You ask me," She lowered her voice, "You know how money makes people crazy?" Remembering the many spats he'd often witnessed caused by the investigation team borrowing money from Yosuke, he nodded. "It makes rich people mega-crazy, or eccentric, eh, whatever you like to call it. I figure this is Mitsuru-san's way of going nuts."

"Makes sense…" Kanji agreed. "Man, it's gonna be an ass taking inventory of a buncha crap I don't even understand…"

"I'm not worried," she went on, "Keeps Fuuka in a job, and she runs the rest of the company pretty well." She thought for a few seconds. "Yeah, it is doing pretty well…" She looked at Kanji. "Why've they got you doing inventory? You'd think they could afford a lab assistant or something…"

"Uh." Kanji droned. "Didn't even think of that."

They stayed quiet for a few moments. They knew things didn't completely add up in this place, but there wasn't really much to question, yet at least. "Ah well," Labrys winked, "As long as I'm not the sucker that has to do it!"

Kanji was about to retort, when they finally stopped walking, in a small hallway right in the centre of the mansion. Labrys knocked three times on the wall, and it swung inwards, almost instantaneously, and in complete silence. The blondes jaw was left hanging, and the maid could only roll her eyes. "Told ya, rich people are crazy." Leading him into the narrow passage, and down some dark steps, she gestured upwards. "See the ceiling? Those bumps are the main staircase. And down here," she pointed to a blank white panel, besides a sheet of what Kanji guessed was incredibly thick metal, "Is how we get in."

She pressed her fingertip against the panel, incredibly lightly, but it was enough to generate the response, the metallic sheet sliding away to reveal an incredibly vast space, crisscrossed with benches and tools, the mansion's laboratory. Striding confidently through the gap, she waved to an individual at a desk far in the room, who's only distinguishable feature Kanji could find at this distance was their aqua-blue hair. The colour stabbed a prick of longing into his heart, after all, blue hair was rare to come by, and this new shade was much closer to that of his favourite detective than the kind Labrys expressed.

"Labby-chan!" They welcomed warmly, voice carrying through the vastness of the facility.

Kanji nudged his friend, as they moved over to meet the stranger. "Labby-chan?"

She looked right back up at him fiercely. "Yeah, you got a problem?" Cooling off quickly as they got to the, as now Kanji could tell, woman's, desk, the maid rose her hand into a mock salute. "Two mindless drones, reporting for duty, ma'am!"

The older woman giggled gently. "Oh, Labrys-chan, you know you're more than a simple drone, don't you?"

"Really?" She grinned. "When do I get my raise?" The girls broke into more laughter, Kanji standing beside them with a bashful expression. Labrys eventually presented him to her friend with a grand arm. "This is Kanji-chan, one of the new muscle we hired. Don't worry, he's not as much a meathead as he looks, I think…"

"Hey! What're ya…" He stopped his outburst, remembering he was in the middle of a first impression. He looked back to the seated woman. "Uh, yeah. It's Kanji, Kanji Tatsumi. You're Fuuka or summit', right?"

She nodded affably. "That's right. I'm Fuuka Yamagishi, Mitsuru-senpai's head researcher."

"Senpai?" He blurted, thinking back the old dynamic he had once had Yasogami high, and in fact, still had with Chie. "She was your senpai?"

Labrys answered for her. "Yeah! They went to school in Tatsumi Port Island. I swear I mentioned it…" A penny dropped, and the greyish haired girl practically jumped over to the other side of the desk, to be cowering next to Fuuka. "Ahhh!" She pointed erratically at Kanji. "Tatsumi! There's a conspiracy here… Somewhere…"

The two other employees glanced at the shaking Labrys with an idle curiosity, not bothering to reassure the girl. "…So," Kanji started smoothly, "Odd coincidence."

"Yes," Fuuka agreed, readily diverting attention from her friend to her new acquaintance. "Though honestly, it's not like much as changed since then. She was the president of one of the school clubs, and I was always talking orders from her. Mitsuru's a good leader." Kanji really examined her then. Her hair was blue, a much lighter shade than Naoto's ever was, and from his own experience with the detective, he knew it wasn't worth asking if it was dyed or somehow natural. Otherwise, all he could get from her was… Small. Perhaps because she was sitting down, but her frame was slight, and her face just looked so soft, much like-

_Stop, _he told himself. _That ain't freakin' helping, and it ain't work appropriate. _He wished he had a manual on how to move past a crush, because he could tell if he was gonna be working with Fuuka a lot, he'd be spending a lot of time mooning unless the manned the hell up. "Thass' cool," he said, hoping there hadn't been as long a pause as he thought. He noticed Labrys, who must've gotten bored with freaking out, was simply sitting on the floor. "So, um, what am I gonna be doing down here?" He looked around, visibly cringing at all the bits and bobs left strewn on tables, alongside the huge machines that as far as he could tell, had no purpose whatsoever. "Er, if you don't mind me asking, what do you even do down here?"

Fuuka snorted. In the rare times anyone else came down to her workspace, they asked the same thing, and she was running out of ways to spin the mess she made. "Oh, nothing much, just low-level R&amp;D. That's," she added, worrying she might have moved too fast. "Research and development."

The tailor narrowed his eyes and looked away. "I knew that…"

The researcher looked down, feeling slightly guilty. She could always count on sticking her foot in her own mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

He stopped her apology, realising he was being an ass. "Oh no, don't…" He sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. I'm just used to bein' the idiot. Tired of it."

A wide eyed Fuuka, still distraught for causing even such a minor offense, tried to make him take back the apology. "No, I was being completely rude, to a total stranger even, I shouldn't-"

"Goddammit," he cut in, "I was being a moron, that's the end of it."

A silence set in, both parties both hating themselves a little more each passing second, until a third party diffused the situation. "Jeez," Labrys quipped, "I didn't think I'd ever find a person as awkward as you are, Fuuka-chan, but here we are!" They both looked down at her hotly, Kanji leaning over the desk to do so, but her smile was sweet as sugar. Looking back to each other, they couldn't help but grin ever so slightly. The moment was broken by a shrill screech by the girl one the floor. "Crap! I gotta get back to work or else I'll never be able to clock off on time…" Springing to her feet, the girl was about to zoom off, before stopping in front of Kanji. "Hey, you know where Chie-chan's gonna be? Might as well run into her today as well."

"Somewhere on the grounds," he answered, "she's got lawn duty. You'll have to look for her though."

The maid tapped her chin thoughtfully "Alright. Hey, I'll see you two later!"

She ran off, leaving Kanji with what was essentially his supervisor while he was down here. "That girl is freakin' fast." He looked to the door, trying to roughly calculating the distance. "Actually, how the hell did she get out of the room in less than-"

"Oh, her job makes her fast," Fuuka roughly explained, far too quickly, a quality lost on Kanji. "Okay," she clapped her hands. The trap was set, Tatsumi was down here, and would be for many shifts to come, giving her ample to time to probe him and analyse his persona ability. A pang of guilt due to having yet another test subject running through the mansion coursed through her veins, which she suppressed while still feeling mostly awful. The problem right now was actually giving the cover story of this lab shift some substance. Once again bemoaning all the clutter she had managed to leave strewn around the laboratory over the years, she had a slightly wicked idea. Gulping, she made it a reality. "Well, I have some desk work to be doing." Her voice grew small. "If you could start by clearing the desks, that would be…"

Fortunately for her, her timid manner was not picked up by her new assistant, who nodded and said, "Alright." He swivelled to the bench at his back, and Fuuka felt as if with murder, and not in a joyful way. Kanji scanned the table, and realised he didn't know what the hell he needed to do. "Uh, Fuuka-san? What should I throw away?"

If she wanted to be honest, she would have said "Nothing". A rational part of her however reminded her how most of those trinkets were of no importance, and if she hadn't looked for them for so long then she most likely wouldn't need them. "I would say," she started slowly, "Anything bigger than, um, let's say your hand, ask me about. The rest isn't worth much."

Kanji tilted his at the collection on the table. He didn't know much about technology, but between the circuitboards and nuts and bolts and who knew what the rest was, it all looked very expensive. "You sure?"

"It's okay," Fuuka said in a reassuring manner, "Most of the little things are actually worthless, or not that useful. The worst case is me putting in an order for new stock."

At his family's shop, such a wasteful attitude would have sunk the business a million times over. "Mitsuru-san really give you that much free reign over budget stuff?" He asked casually, looking through draws for something vague resembling a bin bag.

"Oh yes, she is very invested in my work. You can find some plastic bags over there," She pointed, noticing his struggle.

"Oh, thanks." He walked over to where she pointed and grabbed a few from the cupboard, beginning to throw in whatever he could grab from the table.

Biting her lip, Fuuka still felt bad for accidentally insulting the newcomer to the mansion. "Tatsumi-san, I am sorry for my unwarranted assumption earlier…"

The blonde rolled his eyes, continuing his menial task. "Are you still on that? I was the moron back there."

She sighed, still feeling repentant. "But you are new here, I should have been-"

"You're one of those people that has to apologise for everything, aren't ya?"

The scientist considered that for a moment, and could only agree. "Yes," she said, slightly amused such an accurate judge of her character could come a near-stranger. "How could you tell?"

"Let's just say," he exhaled, "I know someone else like that. Well, she has a headstrong streak when she knows she's right, but whatever."

"That's something I'm missing," Fuuka tried to joke. She soon felt sincere again. "I do apologise, sincerely. I know what it means to be treated like…" She trailed off, and stared into her lap.

He turned away from his work, her quiet form bringing out his protective side. "What was wrong?" He asked, as smoothly as he could manage.

She was silent for a little while, before coming back to reality with an apologetic smile. "Oh. Sorry." She exhaled slowly. "I suppose it was the opposite really. Some people picked on me back in high school for being a bit of a bookworm." Her smile broadened. "Mitsuru-senpai and some other people helped me push past it. I even made good friends with some of those people…"

Kanji couldn't help but notice the sparkle in her eyes during her reminiscence. "You really look up to Kirijo-san, don't you?"

Fuuka blushed profusely. "Sorry. It isn't a corporate worshipping of superiors. She's just truly an amazing woman. I hope you'll see that for yourself during your time here."

It was far to gushing an endorsement to be considered normal, but he'd be lying if he said he'd never felt something similar. "I had a senpai kinda like that. Dude really had his head on straight, helped me a lot..."

His elder smiled even wider. "Really? I had another senpai, they taught me a lot about myself," She said, the glow in her face fading. "They're… Not around anymore…"

Kanji smirked without humour. "Neither's mine. Turned out he wasn't as perfect as everyone thought." Fuuka's morbid reverie was broken, and she pricked her ears as he returned to throwing rubbish into the trash. "Kinda why I'm here to be honest. He left, everything went to shit, I stuck around, and now I'm here."

His words had a hidden gravitas that Fuuka could just sense, but at this stage, it felt uncomfortable to pry. "I'm sorry," she said simply, "Sounds like it was tough."

He shrugged. "I'm here now. Corporate job straight out high school is the dream, right, 'specially in this economy." Honestly, he had just heard that on a news program he'd somehow ended up watching, and it seemed a good enough justification for where his life had brought him.

They soon settled into their working patterns, or rather, something. While pretending to be reading or writing, she was actually spending her time glancing at the persona-user, seeing if she could build a picture of him. She already knew a few things about his personality. He didn't like his intelligence to be insulted for one thing, and for another, he was immediately ready to pull up his sleeves and get to work. Some sort of event prompted him to apply for the job here, would the same be said of his partner? _Could that event be shadow related, _she mused quietly, taking a note on a spare piece of paper. On the topic of shadows, she tried to reach in, to her persona, to see whatever she could scan from the boy, but she didn't learn much new. He definitely had the potential, and it didn't seemed powerful enough to have that rare power to switch between many. She could also tell his persona reflected his well, but it was a persona, they always were fundamentally a part of the users psyche. There was something different, something tiny, something about how they were linked together which was different to any other persona-user she had encountered at this point. If only she could just use her full power, if only she could just…

"Yo, Fuuka-san, why've you got a gun?" Startled, she saw he had an evoker in his hand, emblazoned with the Kirijo group logo. Of course, she had been using the same one for years, but she had sometimes had others fabricated, purely to tinker with. "This ain't some sort of weapons lab…" The tailor asked, his pupils started darting all around the room. "Is it?"

Fuuka waved her arms erratically, getting up from her seat. "No, not at all!" She laughed nervously. Making her way to the boy, she attempted to dissuade his fears. "This is just, a, uh… Part of a costume!"

"Costume?"

"Yes!" She said brightly, firmly taking the piece from his hands. She was slightly unnerved as she took in the full extent of their height difference, staring right into his, she blushed when she realised, well defined chest. She distracted herself by garbling the rest of her excuse. "I mean, for dressing up. It was from a cartoon when I was growing up; all the heroes used these things."

The tailor's interest was piqued. "Really? What was it called, I might've seen it."

She could only muster the lamest possible answer. "…Tartarus." Worried she saw a flash of incredulity on Kanji's face, she tried covering herself further. "It didn't run for long, wasn't very popular, haha…" She laughed weakly, walking back to her desk and shoving the evoker into one of the drawers, making a mental note to conceal the more questionable equipment in the lab more effectively. "Not much to talk about, it was very generic," she lied, desperately driving her helper away from asking too many questions.

"Oh… That's cool I guess." Kanji would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. He had a certain affection for some of the zanier kids shows he had grew up with, one long kept secret, like his other hobbies. He was half hoping that could've been the start of a decent conversation, because otherwise, he had no idea how he'd could make friends with a genius scientist like she seemed to be. "I'll get back to work then…"

The rest of their afternoon was permeated by an uncomfortable silence, the two individuals wanting to know more about each other, but simultaneously having nowhere to start. In Fuuka's case it was a matter of following orders, but she couldn't bring herself to start digging. She was worried she might be too obvious, get something wrong, and send the two newcomers packing before they learned something useful. _It's okay, _she told herself, still snatching glances at her new charge in between scrutinizing the next in a series of endless documentation, _we have time. _


	7. Fresh Air

Chie's wandering had given her ample opportunity to make some conclusions on the grounds of the Kirijo's mansion. Firstly, the whole place was as generic as could be, the dusty front of the building and its fountain as if being picked out from some exclusive catalogue, while the bushes and grass elsewhere provided an eerily perfect symmetry. Secondly, the person who designed the place was somewhat paranoid, not content with the tropical forests of Yakushima Island being enough to protect the land, and instead surrounding the complex with sheer white wall, topped with an array of imposing spikes. Finally, she could tell the gardeners must have been very good at their jobs, with the flowerbeds laid at the back of the mansion being dotted with a huge variety of colours and types, arranged into intricate patterns, all following that familiar pattern of symmetry.

It was an incredibly precise place, leaving Chie impressed, but also, a little sad. _All this space, _she thought wistfully, _and you're not even meant to run around. _Sure, this was a typical example of upper class sophistication, but the mansion was owned by a CEO that could only be described as ultra-upper class. Where were the eccentricities, a race track perhaps, a stable of exotic stallions, or even something as small as a collection of fine china? Chie would have appreciated a giant statue of Mitsuru more than the sterile environment she seemed to have made for herself. Sitting on the grass behind, the martial artist scowled at the building. _Man, if I was rich I'd have a lot more fun with it…_

A door swung open at the foot of the mansion, springing Chie to attention. Half-scared Takenowa's spectre would be pouncing on this one instance of laziness, she was pleasantly surprised to see the professionally-garbed Labrys stepping out into the sunshine. Quickly spotting Chie, she raised an arm in greeting and skipped towards her. "Heya," the maid smiled, "Kanji said I'd find ya out here!"

"Oh," Chie replied, stretching her arms. "You've seen him today already?"

"Yeah, had to show the dummy directions to the not-so-secret lab." Worry flashed across the girl's forehead. "You're on the level with that too, right?"

The brunette's eyebrows shot up. "We have a secret lab?!" She could only enjoy Labrys' dumbstruck expression before she crumpled into laughter. "'Course I am, me and Kanji are a team. Man, the look on your face…"

The younger girl scowled and sat down on the grass. "That's a mean trick to play on a girl."

"You have a point," Chie admitted, plonking herself down beside her friend, "Especially on one who's like a mental age of two."

The maid looked at her incredulously. "The hell are you sayin'?"

She shrugged, but treaded carefully, knowing she may have hit a nerve. "Your amnesia? You said yourself you only remember the last couple of years, so…"

"So?" She scoffed back. "I didn't like, forget how to read and write and stuff. And I can do math pretty fast in my head y'know…"

Labrys drew in her knees and adopted a sulky posture, making Chie feel mostly awful. "I'm sorry," she apologised, "that's not something you can joke about to someone you've only known for a day…"

The amnesiac looked up to her, bottom lip trembling, which halted with a mischievous wink. "Hah, I can pull a trick too!"

Chie snorted, glad to see she hadn't actually offended her co-worker, and also glad to see she wasn't thin skinned, a trait of Kanji's that annoyed her to no end. "Still," she started remorsefully, "That's not cool. I can't ever imagine not being able to remember-"

"Hey." Labrys looked at her seriously. "Cut it out with that depressin' crap. I've gotten enough sympathy from people already, its fun to have someone who'll actually give me shit for it."

Her friend wasn't particularly convinced. "Uh… Really?"

"Dude, you have no idea how boring everyone else is round here. The other maid's idea of humour is the same five knock-knock jokes over and over, and the cooks and gardeners all just have weird cliques." She laid herself down on the grass, and stared at the sky. "Trust me, jokes at my expense are preferable. Besides don't think I won't fire back when I eventually get dirt on you!"

The martial artist placed a dainty hand on her chest, the picture of innocence. "Dirt? There's no dirt, I'm pure as pure." While her friend looked wonderfully comfortable in the dirt, Chie knew she still had a lot of ground to cover for her shift. Standing, she held out a hand to her companion. "I've gotta do some more patrolling around here, you coming with?" While ticked she had to get up so quickly, the maid took the offered assistance, her friend making a silent note she was much heavier than her small frame made her first believe. _Now that's something that might be too sore to bring up, _Chie thought humourlessly.

"I am gonna find something to tease you about though," Labrys declared, as the pair began following the patrol route, "And when I do, you aren't gonna forget it!"

The security guard shook her head, smiling. "Why is that a big deal for you?"

"Umm…" She stalled awkwardly, before sighing. "It's what people in TV and movies do to their 'best friends'." She shyly looked to the ground. "I'm hoping you and Kanji-kun might become…"

Chie smirked. "Wow, you are sooooo lame," She teased, and afterwards, before the girl could protest, laying an arm across her shoulders. "I hope so too. And I bet he does as well."

The girls smiled at each other, for a few moments enjoying the good company and the pleasant weather. Then Labrys clapped her hands together. "Alright! Finding dirt on Chie: part one!" She pointed at her with a fierce intensity. "Are you and Kanji-kun together?"

The implication was sudden and obvious, leaving Chie spluttering. "I- What- I mean…" She struggled. "What makes you think that?"

Labrys looked at her oddly. "What? You're a girl, he's a guy, and you moved thousands of miles here, together. You're obviously close."

"And?" She took a step away from her friend, and held her arm awkwardly. "We're friends. That's what good friends do?"

To the maid's credit, she looked legitimately confused. "Wha? All the movies I watched, just looked like the guy an' gal were close, friend-like, and then they got together. I thought it was like, a convenience thing."

It was at this moment, Chie realised how truly sheltered this girl was. With no real reference for how any kind of relationship worked, she had to make her best guess from whatever she had available. "Do you always try to learn about that kind of thing from movies?"

She looked away, but the martial artist knew that if she could see her eyes, there would only be sadness. "It's all I had. No-one my age to talk to, films TV and the internet were the only things available, and movies are much easier to binge through than a buncha articles or blogs."

"Labrys-chan…" Chie wished she had something to say, but her own experience was just so minuscule compared to the burden her friend had to carry. "I'm so sorry…"

"Oi!" The martial artist could see her friend's face now, and while her eyes still had a certain melancholy, her stern expression at least had energy behind it. "I said none of that depressin' sympathy, alright?"

Chie nodded firmly. "Okay."

"Moving on," Labrys drawled, looking ahead, "Have you like, ever had a boyfriend or anything?" A question that forced her to think back to her first boyfriend, her only boyfriend, her ex-boyfriend, that made her stop in her tracks. Blanking out for a few moments, it took a concerned Labrys taking her hand to snap her back to reality. "Hey, you alright?"

Chie tried to smile, but it was only weak. "Yup, completely I- Nope." She couldn't keep lying, not to herself, or to her friend, who needed every dose of what was 'real' she could get. "I'm really not. I mean, who moves away from home, takes a completely random job, all to get away from one boy?"

Labrys tilted her head. "That's why you're here? Bad breakup or something?"

"The worst," Chie said tersely, leading the pair of them to the nearby perimeter wall, and leaning back on it, sinking to the floor. She noticed Labyrs shiver slightly. "Something wrong?"

She was staring the wall up and down, judging the smooth concrete. "I don't like walls like this… They just make me feel… I dunno, they block everything…" She turned to her friend, joining her on the floor, determined to help if she could. "Never mind that, we need to talk about this boy."

Chie's eyes were half open, staring into nowhere in particular. "Do we?"

"Of course, that's what girls do!" This had been announced proudly, but the maid quickly shrunk. "In the movies at least."

The security guard looked back to her co-worker, who was spacing out like she was. Sighing, she came to an interesting realisation. She had never really told her side of the story. Her mom had pried, of course, but she really didn't feel like spilling her soul, and letting her mother spill her private life across the intricately networked parents' web of Inaba. Even Kanji she felt was too close to the incident, and things had become so easy in pretending nothing had happened. But now, she had the perfect audience, willing to listen, and without the experience to be able to judge or comment. "Do you want to hear a love story, Labrys?" Her friend turned to her, interest raised. "This is a real love story, and it's not pretty. You'll have all the dirt you'd ever want from me by the end. Hopefully you'll learn something about how these things actually work."

The younger girl scratched her chin. "Like what?"

"That you can't really know a person. That they'll hurt you. That boys freakin' suck…" Her audience laughed at that last blunt assessment, while Chie smiled solemnly, and began her tale. "His name was Yu Narukami, he was a transfer student from the city…"

_When the new kid had back chatted King Moron after only a minute in the classroom, Chie was not only impressed, but awed. She half berated herself for offering the seat next to her to save him from their teacher's became wrath, curious to see how far this guy would could've taken it. "Wow," she whispered as he sat down, "We've never had an entrance like that before."_

_"You've never had a guy like me before." The line was corny, but luckily he chuckled, so he was thankfully being ironic. "Sorry. Too good a setup. I'm Yu Narukami, if you've already forgotten."_

_Chie was almost ashamed to admit she had, what with the spectacle he had made for himself after his initial introduction to the class. "I'm Chie Satonaka. Guess we're desk buddies for the year."_

_He smiled, and Chie felt her stomach stir in a way unfamiliar, and strangely exciting. "I'm looking forward to it."_

_"Hey, new boy!" Mr. Morooka shouted mid-lecture, "Quit trying to impregnate the class, I deal with enough of you babies as it is! As I was saying…"_

_Chie blushed a whole new shade of pink, and tried to focus on the boring old man in the front of the class, difficult when there was an interesting young one right beside her. She rubbed her eyes furiously. 'What the hell is up with me today?' she thought to herself, fully knowing the answer, while not quite wanting to admit it_

_The announcement of the incident outside of the school sparked furious speculation. Chie would have best friend Yukiko Amagi wasn't paying attention. She looked tired, tired like she had been for the last few weeks, and Chie had all but given up on trying to help. She just hoped the reporters for the Yamano story would leave town soon, and give her heiress friend the rest she deserved._

_So instead, she just chatted to the new kid, Yu, trying to give a detailed rundown of how the school worked, and give him a picture of the Inaba life. It was only natural to invite him to walk home with her and Yukiko, and tried not to think about what he thought to her crippling of Yosuke Hanamura, courtesy of her broken copy of 'trial of the dragon'. The violence of the day didn't stop there; she had been very close to knocking the lights out of a creepy stranger who had tried hitting on Yukiko- he didn't even go to their school! _

_On their way home, past the floodplains of the sleepy town, she asked Yu a not totally innocent question. "So, you think Yukiko's pretty, right?" _

_It made sense. Yu, Yukiko, it seemed like they should fit together. Every boy in town figured they would fit with Yukiko at least, why should the newbie be any different? And it was okay. She wanted her friend to be happy, and figured it was about time she found her special someone. Why would it concern her, she was just trying to help…_

_Yukiko's sigh and blush was expected, and admittedly the whole point of the exercise. Why she was hoping for something similar to come from the transfer student, his cool reply left her in the same state as her best friend. "Of course. I've already noticed this town has an abundance of that quality." It wasn't his voice leaving the martial artist staring at her feet. It was his gaze, piercing, accompanied by an assured brow and sly smile. It was directed at her, but it wasn't supposed to be, was it? Surely it was meant for Yukiko, but looking back up, their pupils locked, and she snapped her head away before her heart started fluttering too quickly. _

_Their arrival at a crime scene pushed thoughts of Yu Narukami to the back of her mind, but only barely. The body of a famous announcer, Mayumi Yamano, had been found, grotesquely displayed on a TV antenna in the suburbs. That was to only be the start of the troubles Inaba faced that year. Soon, their upperclassman Saki Konishi was found in a similar circumstance, and all of a sudden, the most boring town in Japan held residence to a serial killer. It excited Chie, when she wasn't being horrified by it all, but the heavy atmosphere around the town, and other strange events besides, left her feeling stressed. So there was only one thing to do._

_She strolled to the riverside, taking her usual spot, and started hopping on the spot, warming up her muscles. Kicking the ass of some phantom bad guys was just what she needed. Sure, she wasn't professionally trained, or combat ready, but she was certain she could send some of the bigger guys in school crying home to their mothers. In any case, she was about to throw out a few kicks, when she saw a clumsy combat stance being adopted besides her. "Yu-kun!"_

_They had gotten friendlier in the last couple weeks, to the point where they could easily call each other friends. She still had this weird feeling about him, but she decided it was refreshing to talk to a guy who wasn't inquiring about Yukiko every five minutes. She loved the girl with all her heart, but she was an imposing figure to stand besides, being not only elegant heiress of local heritage, but being damn beautiful to boot. Chie had to shove off so many questions, what food did she like, bigger guys or leaner ones, where did she hang out, what was her phone number, etcetera etcetera. Being Yukiko's best friend, her only friend, her shield to the horrors of the high school boys, and the rest of the world besides, had become so important, so essential, she had started to wonder what their friendship really was. Was it a story of two girls, giggling their way through their teen years, or that of a stoic bodyguard to the larger than life celebrity?_

_But she knew that was a childish way to feel. Yu had an instrumental part in helping her realise that, discovering and working through that shadowy side of herself. She was going to be a better friend to Yukiko, and was starting to be better to herself._

_Still, she couldn't help but be surprised Yu had taken up her offer. Training by the river sounded like hard work to the other people she discussed her exercise routine with, and it had only come up by accident when talking to the grey-haired transfer student. Yet, here he was, with her, ready to get to work. She told herself the sweat in her palms was from her drills._

_She started running through the fundamentals. Chie was pleased to see he moved his body with every strike; he was making a real effort, and his technique was improving with every motion. "You sure you haven't done this before?" She teased slightly._

_"I don't think so" he replied, going through the punches she had shown him, "Unless I actually am black belt, who was far too lax about head protection." He twirled his index finger around his temple, with a small smile._

_His humour was dry, a form she usually found grating, but he found a way to make it sound assured. Mature. Strong. "Whatever," she groaned playfully, "I just think you're one of those people whose good at everything. You answer every question in class after all."_

_He lowered his arms after a final swing, and turned to face the girl, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't think so, you haven't seen my cooking yet."_

_"You haven't seen mine," she countered, moving over to the bench near them, and gesturing him over. "Break time."_

_He sat down beside her, and they were quite for a while, simply listening to the river, and Chie avoiding snatching glances at the handsome boy to her left. "You're a good teacher," he said suddenly._

_She wasn't used to praise, and her expression grew befuddled. "Eh?"_

_"It's true," he insisted. "Your passion really shines through, it makes me want to improve. That's a powerful thing. Not many people can really focus what they love into that positive energy." He nodded firmly. "You're something special."_

_She could swear her ears were burning. She tried using bravado to contain her internal girlish squealing. "You're not too bad yourself!" She clapped him roughly on the back. "I'll make a man of you yet!" A thought rushed through her brain before she could stop it, leaving her a whole new shade of pink. 'Can't you make a woman of me?'_

"Those murders…" Labrys shivered, shaking her head. "Must've been scary."

Chie leant her head back on the wall. "It affected everybody in town, even in tiny ways, it was there, the idea you could be next." She scratched at her knee and exhaled. "I think they made everything with Yu more intense, which only made things worse afterwards..."

Her friend pulled a face. "I'll be honest, that all sounded like everything out of a movie. 'Cept for your best friend. Did you patch things up in the end?"

The brunette got to her feet, sighing. "Oh we did then. It was a real non-issue looking back on it."

"Oh. What's the matter?" Labrys asked, feeling her friend already growing more distant. "Did she steal him from you or somethin'?" She guessed, regretting her callous tone as the words left her mouth.

Chie's stare told Labrys the answer was both that simple but somehow much more complicated. "Look, I'll tell you more later, alright? It's a lot to go through in one go."

Her tired smile was obviously forced, but the maid was glad she was opening up, and at least trying to be chipper about it. "Alright. You got more of the grounds to scout, right? I'll leave you to it." Chie waved in farewell, but before the older girl could move away, she found herself wrapped in a tight embrace. "I'm glad you're talking," She whispered, "It's nice to hear thoughts that aren't mine…"

She pulled away, and the martial artist watched her as she trudged back to the mansion, to whatever duties were calling her. Knowing she had her own to perform, she turned on her heels, and carried on through her route, crisscrossing the garden. She was walking slightly easier than before, the burden on her shoulders, her anguish of the last few years, somehow being lightened

At the dead of night, in the mansion's Laboratory, Fuuka and Mitsuru had already carried out the more covert side of their operation. Labrys lay on the table, a wire stuck in her neck. Her visor, reminiscent of the medieval knights of Europe, was visible on her forehead, the Kirijo's groups concealment device being turned off for convenience sake. Fuuka was sure seeing her friend in her true form during her mechanical check-ups only made it harder for her to keep up her own part in the deception, but it was unavoidable. You have to be able to see a model before it could be painted.

Scouring the girl's memory banks was an entirely different breach of her moral code however. She had convinced herself, with prodding from Mitsuru, that the girl's situation was preferable in blissful ignorance, but this used that ignorance for their personal gain. _Of course_, Fuuka reminded herself, _it's not really our 'personal' gain…_

Mitsuru believed in doing whatever was possible in finding ways to combat the ever-present threat shadows posed to the general public, in some ways only possible for her. Fuuka believed the same, however, she sometimes pined for her early days in S.E.E.S, where the enemy was obvious, and there was no thoughts required into personal ethics.

Mitsuru's voice brought Fuuka back to work. "What is this about a string of murders in Inaba?"

The technician was disappointed she couldn't keep listening; she was becoming rather engrossed in Chie's love story. When she remembered she was looking at a private conversation rather than a film, she started talking, rather contemplating how perverse that was. "I've already looked into it, seeing as the subject's one unifying trait was their hometown, and, frankly, um, the killings were its only unusual news in the last few decades."

Her boss mulled this over for some drawn out seconds, ears still pricked to the recording. "And?"

"It's unusual. Only three deaths…" She cringed at her use of only. _Is that who I am now_, she thought sadly, _attributing the loss of three lives as a trivial event?_ "In any case," she continued, "One was the work of a copycat, but the other two were unique. No marks left on the bodies, or any trace of a killer that could be found by forensic analysis, and they were left hanging at TV antennas that would be by all accounts difficult to reach, especially when carrying such," she gulped, "A load."

"Interesting…" Mitsuru mused, scratching her chin. "Was a culprit found?"

"Yes, one of the detectives working on the case, who admitted to everything months after the killings. Apparently an earlier suspect was almost prosecuted, before the real killer confessed. There was also some hysteria surrounding an influx of fog around the town immediately prior to the culprit's capture…"

"Was there any information on his testimony?" The older woman asked. "His method?"

The blue-haired girl shook her head slowly. "Not in public databases…"

"Then go deeper. Get me a copy of the culprit's confession. Such strange events in a town that's generated at least two persona-users can't be coincidental." She got to her feet, and stared into the ceiling. "Hmm… How long ago were these murders?"

"They occurred over a period of two and three years ago."

Mitsuru smiled softly. "Our security guards would have been in high school, around the age we were when we had our own incidents to deal with." She roughly brushed some stray hair out of her eyes. "Perhaps it is always the young that are chosen for such power…" Failing to stifle a yawn, and blushing at Fuuka's giggle when she did so, she straightened herself. "I must retire for the evening. You can finish up here, Fuuka-san."

"Goodnight." When her boss left, she let out a sigh. There were some other technical tasks on Labrys that had to be completed before she could turn in. Disconnecting the wires that they used to see in her memories, performing some routine checks, and of course, ensuring the behaviour she had designed so she would essentially 'sleepwalk' back to her own room with minimal fuss was guaranteed to work. Labrys was certainly a lot of work to keep operational. She didn't give much thought to how it meant she neglected herself…


	8. Sleepover!

"So, this is going pretty well…"

It was a nothing statement, but Kanji had to agree with her. The security guards were stretched out on the beach, only a couple minutes' walk down a dirt path at the back of the mansion. They had been official employees of the Kirijo group for a couple of days now, but hadn't really had much time to talk, with having to adjust to their new duties. "Yeah," he said, "Kinda wish they'd make the chefs cook for us though. Can't live on the microwavable stuff in the staff lounge all year…"

Chie nodded. "Yeah. Guess we'll have to get some fruit and stuff ourselves. Oooh, we could have a rota, I cook one day, you the other!" She turned to him and grinned. "That'd be great!"

The blonde's stomach performed a double somersault. His time high school had taught him all about his senpai's most likely illegal experiments with food. "Uh, you know what? I think we'll be good. Saves us money to eat junk anyway, right?"

The martial artist adopted a strange expression. "You really care about that? With the money we're getting, we could eat the finest steaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

Kanji blanched. "All three of them? You can do that?"

Chie sighed happily. "That was a good day…"

He stared at her serene features for a few moments, and then shook is his head. "Can't. I wanna save some of it for Ma."

"Really?" Chie asked, staring over the ocean. "I thought the shop was doing pretty well, for post-Junes Inaba at least."

"It is," he admitted, "But I can't make those dumb dolls while I'm here. Gotta make up for that. Plus I feel like I owe her, y'know?"

Chie snorted, making her friend visibly annoyed. "Sorry," she apologised, "but my parents aren't seeing anything of what I earn. We're a 'once you're out your out' kinda family."

Kanji thought treating your own daughter like that was a little brutal "That seems pretty harsh."

"Nah," she brushed off, "I'm ready, and they know that. It's not absolute," she clarified, "I mean, if my house burned down I could move back in. We just like to have everyone be able to stand on their own two feet."

Kanji shrugged. He knew it was difficult to comprehend the ways of a family that isn't your own. "That's alright I guess." There was a peaceful quiet, the two partners watching the lap of the tide with a disinterest, the orange sun falling ever closer to its resting place for the night. Kanji couldn't think of the last time he could find a spot in Inaba where he could do this, where they could do this. Everywhere in the town had memories, and even places where the memories were only happy couldn't help but bring up the ones less so in tandem. He cursed quietly. _Crap. It's happening here too. _Now he had to bring it up. "You reckon you're happier here?" He asked bluntly.

Being lulled from her calm state with such a tricky question meant Chie took a few moments to find her answer. "I guess? I am thinking about the bad stuff," _Thank you Labrys, _she thought dully, "but I think I'm actually kicking back at it for a change. Like, I feel I could actually be happy here. There wasn't a chance of that back home." She sighed, trying to keep the bad thoughts at bay, and turned the tables on Kanji. "What about you? Still thinking about her?"

"About who?" He challenged, before remembering if anyone knew the extent of how he felt, it was Chie. "Sorry, force of habit." He mumbled, before speaking with total honesty. "Yeah. Not much different to home, 'course, she hadn't been there either. Doesn't help-" He clammed up.

Chie raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't help...?"

He sighed. "Promise me ya won't tell me I'm being dumb?" She didn't nod, but gestured him to continue. "Well, Fuuka, Labrys mentioned her, remember? She works in the Lab, so in my lab shift I see her all the time. A-and," he stuttered, a blush on his cheeks, "Her hair's blue too. I know it's dumb, but it keeps making me think of…"

"That's not stupid at all," Chie reassured him, sitting up and placing her nearest hand on his shoulder, "You won't believe how many old people I've started hating for the same reason." _Dark-haired people too, _she thought bitterly. "What's she like?" She asked, once again trying to distract her brain from going somewhere dark.

Kanji's expression was blank. "I dunno really. Doesn't talk much. So shy I guess? Makes things feel pretty awkward actually, since it's just me an' her."

"Wait, she's the only scientist?" Chie had pictured an army of geeks, assembling weapons of mass destruction for the glory of the Kirijo group. "What does she even do down there?"

"Not much from what I see. She's either reading or just fiddlin' with little doohickeys."

"Huh." She couldn't pretend to be too jealous; her patrol was a bit of a workout, but she remembered the couple shifts she had taken during Junes' busy season being much more stressful then her job had been so far. "Maybe it's a job for life kinda deal, Labrys did say she went to high school with Mitsuru, probably just doing her a favour." She had an idea. "You should ask her about Mitsuru in high school, it's always good to have dirt on your boss!"

Her friend tilted his head on the sand. "Little crass don'tcha think?"

She stood up and shrugged. "It's something you can talk about, then at least you won't be all awkward with eachother." She pointed inland. "I've gotta go meet up with Labrys, so I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

She began to walk, but Kanji's voice stopped her. "Wait, why wasn't I invited?"

"Girl's sleepover," Chie explained, "She's never had one before and looked pretty excited. I think she wants it to be like the ones from the movies."

Kanji propped himself on his elbows. "So junk food and pillow fights?"

"Sounds like it. See ya!"

"Wait that sounds fun!" He yelled to her.

"No boys allowed," she called, "You can catch up on your knitting!" She left hearing the sounds of Kanji's mumbling, knowing fully well that one, he would be much better suited to getting invested in a girl's sleepover, and two, that he would be entirely happy with having his own intimate night with a ball of yarn.

_Shit, _the boy thought, throwing a rock out into the sea, _I should have remembered my goddamn needles._

Labrys' room was somewhat strange for Chie upon her first entering. It was identical to the ones she and Kanji had been provided, yet there was a couple years' worth of evidence that it held residence to a young girl, one who clearly had too much time on her hands.

There was no part of the wall that was bare, the dull white covered with bright posters, of TV shows and movies, from the biggest blockbusters of the decade, to low key productions Labrys must have taken a liking to. She had a bookshelf, made of a cheap wood that didn't match the rest of the furnishings at all, straining with the weight of books, manga, and DVD's. "You sure have a lot of stuff, Labrys-chan." Chie acknowledged, pleasantly surprised when she spotted a few martial arts movies in the collection.

"Eh," the maid shrugged, plopping down onto her bed, "it's not that many. There was a whole bunch of other stuff, but Takenowa threw a fit…"

"Seriously?" Chie rolled her eyes. "It's your room, you should be able to do what you want."

"According to him, as estate manager, he's my landlord. And, er," she blushed slightly, "It was kind of difficult for the other maids to actually get in to clean."

Her friend joined her, sitting at the foot of her bed, looking impressed. "That much? Damn. Wait, shouldn't you be cleaning your own room?"

"We're in the presence of the rich, Chie-chan, we shouldn't have to perform such petty chores! Keeps the maids in a job, that's what I think."

"But you _are_ a maid," Chie pointed out. "It is your job."

"So?" Labrys said incredulously. "No way am I gonna be the one cleaning my own room, that's like homework. Do you do a security sweep or whatever of yours?" Her pointed expression sent Chie's eyes down to the floor, leaving her rather smug. "Thought so. Okay!" She clapped, jolting her friend upright. "Sleepover!"

If Chie was honest, the exercise felt a little childish, but she knew with Labrys' amnesia, she would have a penchant for such things. "Yeah, woo…" If her friend was annoyed at the lack of enthusiasm in her voice, she didn't show it, and quickly reached under her bed and pulled out a colourful plastic package. "Hey, is that-"

"Giant marshmallows!" The girl announced, grinning widely. "I thought they'd be fun, then realised it might be a little sad to eat 'em on my own…" She trailed off, before quickly regaining her pep, and threw one of the huge white candies across. "But now you can share the food guilt with me!" Its size was incredible, just larger than Chie's fist. She inspected from multiple angles, twisting and squeezing, trying to work out how to even approach such a thing. A squelching sound drew her attention elsewhere, to the sight of Labrys, her mouth wide open and completely blank inside. Her jaw closed slowly, a low groan behind the wall of marshmallow showing how much effort it was taking, before snapping shut, with an uncomfortable gulp. She coughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, holding out the bag with a viscous glee. "So," she asked slyly, "How many can you fit in your mouth?"

Chie knew the girl was too innocent to grasp the potential implications of that phrase, and she couldn't contemplate that herself, too busy with working out the logistics of such a feat. She had almost won the famous 'Rainy Day Beef Bowl' challenge in Inaba, but this was a whole different beast. Her mealtime exploits had been devoted to the devouring of delicious carcass after carcass. Savoury, she was prepared for. Sweet, she was not. She had to test the waters. "How many did you have?"

Labrys held up her fingers. "Three." She stroked her chin, and looked her friend up and down. "But you're older, I reckon you could get four easy."

With the wink that accompanied that encouragement, Chie realised the maid may not be as innocent as she first thought. But the challenge had been set, and she had to rise to it. _Okay, so all at once, or one at a time? _She debated. _I could put them as fair back in my mouth as I can… Wait, I don't want to choke… _But remembering the pitter patter of rain on Aiya's window, she decided on her usual tactic. Brute force. She screwed her eyes shut and shook her arms, psyching herself up. "Here I go!"

Before she could tell herself otherwise, she stuffed fluffy blob after fluffy blob into her mouth, until the contingent of four was in, and a single tear rolled down Chie's cheek. "Wow, you actually did it!" Labrys exclaimed, moving closer. She poked the mass visible through the martial artist's wide open jaw, making all sorts 'Hmm,' and 'Ah,' noises, while Chie's protesting scream was muffled by what felt like miles of insulating marshmallow.

She managed to swat her gawping audience with an arm that was perhaps too strong, sending her tumbling to the floor. Chie didn't notice this, occupied with trying to clench her jaw and end her torture. It took her placing her hands on the top and bottom of her head and pushing with a ton of force, but eventually her upper and lower teeth met, and she repeated the motion, eventually breaking down her white Everest into more manageable but still horrible boulders. She swallowed the chunks, one by one, until her mouth was empty, rough, and panting. She feel down to her side, with a bounce on the mattress, mind as blank as the candy she had just somehow ingested.

"That was incredible!" She heard somewhere distant, tears in her eyes blurring out the face pressed almost right up to hers. A 'Buh?' was all she could manage, allowing the figure above her prattle on endlessly. "I mean, I knew you we're tough, but man, not that tough!" Chie felt a faint bump on her shoulder, which was more than enough in her state to roll her to her back, and start staring at the ceiling. "So, what's next?"

"Next?" She asked weakly.

"Yes next. Sleepover, remember?" Labrys held a finger over her friend and moved it back and forth, becoming slightly worried when her pupils didn't follow the motion. "Uh, do you need a doctor or summit? Mitsuru-chan's might be in."

Chie shook her head slowly, and groggily moved herself upright, head still feeling sway-y. "She has her own doctor?"

"Sure," Labrys nodded, "Like, she so much as has the sniffles in public the company stock goes down. People are fickle like that."

Once again, Chie was perturbed by how important her boss was. _I really need to find out more about her… _She looked at Labrys. _Well, this is a sleepover. _"Okay, so next." she started. "At sleepovers, people usually talk about other people, so I wanna know if you know anything interesting about Mitsuru-san!"

The maid's eyes brightened. "Oh, that's right, we are supposed talk about people!" She tapped her chin. "Lemme think... Ugh, Fuuka would be so good to have around right now…" She raised her hand. "I got one, she used to be engaged!"

"Engaged?" Mitsuru didn't like a person to let anyone that close, she was still so young, if she could believe it. "To who? What called it off?"

"Eh, some stooge at a rival company," Labrys replied dismissively. "Apparently it was supposed to bring them together, I dunno, sounds like some of that old fashioned crap. Get your princess to marry the enemy's prince, y'know?"

Chie had watched at least three kung-fu films with that premise, the twist being the couple both falling in true love and running away from both of their families, or the princess calling off the engagement in a flurry of kicks and punches. Naturally, now she pictured Mitsuru throwing those punches and kicks, and had to admit, in her mind's eye, it looked rather natural to her. "So I'm guessing she didn't like the guy and called it quits?"

"That's the gist," Labrys said, "though apparently it wasn't easy, lots of old men in the company who wanted it to go through, and this was before Mitsuru was really the de facto CEO."

The security guard thought for a few moments. "Wait, how long has she been running the company?

"A few years," Labrys answered. "Took over when her dad died… Still in high school, so you can guess how that went down with some of the brass back then."

"Wow. That's incredible…"

"Yeah, it's a real tale of dedication and perseverance," Labrys said in a faux-timid voice, "So Fuuka tells it anyway…" She snapped her fingers. "There's something about her, the dork completely fangirls over Mitsuru."

"Really? I get it I guess," Chie reasoned, "she's kinda impressive. Didn't you say she was her senpai? That would have had a lasting impression."

"You have no idea. She talks about this club Mitsuru was a head of that she join, and she taught her _so _many things about life and most importantly, _herself_." Her mocking tone made Chie a little uncomfortable, and she must have shown it. "Sorry. She's a really nice girl, but she can be a broken record sometimes. Okay, I'm done," She finished, pointing at Chie, "Your turn, though I guess I can only really ask you about Kanji-kun though."

"Oh, this is easy!" She looked over her shoulders in dramatic fashion, and whispered low. "He likes knitting, sewing, and most of all, stuffed animals." Labrys' eyelids were half closed; she was clearly unimpressed. "What?"

"C'mon, that's obvious. Guy as big as him is _obviously _a big softie at heart." She crossed her arms. "Ya got anything better?"

"Uhh," she struggled, before settling on appealing to Labrys' more violent tendencies. "He once beat up an entire biker gang because they were keeping his mom awake at night."

Labrys gasped. "That's so cool!" She giggled excitedly. "Still a softie because it was for his mom but still… How old was he?"

"Oh, 15…" Chie sad casually, widening the maid's eyes as expected.

"Holy crap! That's amazing! I should ask him how he did it, he isn't trained like you isn't he?"

She thought back to their adventures in the TV world. "Not in a manner of speaking…"

"Man… He must've just done it on pure power." She started boxing the air in front of her. "He should teach me how to throw a punch!"

A thought flashed across Chie's mind. "You can't ask him about it though," she said hurriedly.

"Aw," she whined in disappointment, "why not?"

"It just reminds him of a time he was stupider, more reckless. A…" she paused, "Friend, helped him go through it. Anyway, its personal, you didn't hear it from me, yadda yadda."

But Labrys had picked up on her hesitation. "Friend? Ooooh, is it your grey haired loverboy again or someone else?"

Chie clenched her teeth, annoyed both by her friend's directness, and the fact merely thinking of Yu could still set her on edge like this. "Yeah. It is."

"Alright," Labrys nodded, noticing the straining tendons in her friend's neck. "We need to go through part two of 'Chie's bad breakup'. First kiss time!"

Her candour once again threw Chie, thankfully off her rage train. "W-what?"

"C'mon, you were all over him when you finished the story last time. Who pulled the trigger, you or him?" She pondered for a moment, and winked. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Ugh, are you calling me a slut?" Chie snapped, getting tired of the teasing tone, and looked away immediately as the words come out. "Sorry, it's just… You have no idea…"

"Hey," her friend said soothingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "No I don't. So you gotta tell me." She grinned. "And then I can hate the guy like you do!"

Chie smiled softly, and continued her tale. "Alright, so, we were training at the river as usual, right, and…"

_Weeks passed, and things only became stranger, what with the fervour of the murder case sweeping through Inaba, and Chie's blossoming relationship with one Yu Narukami, fanned by their meetings by the river. The duo had become quite confident during their journey in the martial arts, and when they heard rumours of a gang of hoodlums in the shopping district, Chie was indignant. "They're scumbags!" She declared. "Someone should teach them a lesson…" _

_Narukami shook his head, sat at their usual bench. "The police can't do much in an area like this, too many connections. It's much easier to give your nephew a slapped wrist than a caution, avoids an argument in the family…"_

_Frustrated, Chie kicked at the dirt. "Hell to that, we can stop them!"_

_Yu's smirk had an amazing quality of always being not quite condescending, so never became grating. "How?"_

_"I don't know…" Chie mumbled, hunching down in her seat. "We could like, patrol I guess. See anyone causing trouble and tell them to stop."_

_Her friend nodded solemnly, and simply said "Ok."._

_For Chie, the walk to the shopping district was punctuated with an ever rising tension. She wasn't Kanji Tatsumi, the thug rumoured to have taken out an entire biker gang, she was Chie Satonaka, part time kung-fu enthusiast who wasn't even professionally trained. She was comforted by Yu however, despite his silence; he was stoic, as ever, and carried a certain strength on his shoulders._

_Their arrival was anticlimactic, lacking the prowling hoodlums and burning trash cans she had found in her overactive imagination. Honestly, the pair just wandered for half an hour, an hour, talking about anything, the murders, their childhoods, their dreams, and soon Chie forgot why they were roaming from the river at all._

_"-so then Yukiko said…" She stopped, eyes locking to a spot down an alley to her right, only looking over there to avoid Yu's cloud-like eyes, and stop herself from trying to read too much into them. There was a shadowy threesome, looming over a boy that in comparison was impossibly small. She moved on instinct at this point, forgetting all about Yu, and stalked towards the group with the aura of a lioness. "Hey!"_

_The boys all turned, including their prey, whose knees were shaking and nose was running. The older ones were all the same type, clothes that were too large, obnoxious caps, and a tiny gold earring that made them oh so edgy. As did their language. "Well, what does this bitch want?" one muttered loudly._

_"This 'bitch'," Chie growled, stopping just a few paces before them, "Thinks you should pick on someone your own size."_

_There was silence, as the punks shuffled in their shoes. "Well," one piped up, "Your boyfriend's too much of a wimp to put up a fight, and you aren't nothin', girly."_

_They started laughing, scoffing at the newcomers, making Chie flush hot, and forcing her to put every effort in keeping her arms and legs by their sides. "Wait a second boys," one of the thugs said, "This fucker's got grey hair. He must be that new kid." His team chorused with 'oh yeahs' and he smiled. "From what I hear, you're livin' with your uncle 'cus your mom's too busy sucking dicks."_

_The 'oohs' and hand gestures the guy's cronies followed up with may have provoked a reaction in Chie, but it certainly didn't with Yu. Gripping her arm, preventing her from doing anything rash, and smiled sweet as sugar. "That's funny, because I hear your dad's in the same business." _

_It was a cheap rise, everyone knew it, even the kid, but it broke the punk's composure, so he looked for a rise somewhere else. "You're lame. This chick however…" He looked her up and down, licking his lips in the foulest manner possible. "Covered in green. She's Yuki-chan's bitch." And of course, with the mere mention of 'the Amagi Challenge', everyone had to join in._

_"Oooh, can you get us a date?"_

_"Man, I bet she's a total slut in bed…"_

_"I hear the inn's actually a 'massage parlour'."_

_"I should book a room some time…"_

_"I hear their food is incredible. Five star." Yu's out of the blue statement at last broke the chain, leaving everyone staring at him. "And the gardens are supposed to be gorgeous." Chie only realised when she look down that he had two hands on her now, gripping her even more securely. She was angry at him for a moment, before seeing she already tried making a stride with her right leg, her foot set down on the ground mid stride._

_The bullies were all eyeing Yu with suspicion. "…Well, anyway, why don't you two run along now. You don't want us to pay Yuki-chan a visit, do ya?"_

_Now they had crossed a line. Nobody threatened Yukiko. Not teachers, not animals, and certainly not lowlife idiots. She tried to move forward, but Yu still held her, and she turned back to him, ready to scream a barrel of obscenities. But seeing his face, she couldn't yell. Even in a tense situation, it was calm, tranquil, states that were soon overriding Chie's red tinted mind. Then, after what felt like hours, he simply nodded, and released his grip._

_She stumbled forwards, which the boys jeered of course, but this time, it didn't make her angry. They were sad, perilously sad, and, as unlikely as it seemed a few minutes ago, she wasn't going to stoop to their level. "So you want us to leave huh? And you want to pick on this kid?" She strode past them coolly, and stood right in front of the kid, who had been frozen on the spot for the entire exchange. "Then you'll have to go through me."_

_The boy closest frowned. "What? Just move bitch."_

_He stepped closer, while she stood like a rock. "No. I won't fight back," she offered, "Honest. Get me in the gut, the face, whatever you want, I won't do anything. But I won't budge. I am __**not**__ letting you hurt him."_

_Her speech had been lost on her audience, who just looked frustrated. "Move already!" One tried cutting past her but she stepped to the side, and snarled. The punks all looked at each other, knowing it was three on one effectively, but beating on a girl was fundamentally not cool, especially when she wouldn't fight back. "Wait a second…" One of the boys pointed at Yu. "Ain't his uncle a cop or somethin'? Doji-whatever."_

_Yu simply shrugged, but the thugs decided it had gotten to the point where this just wasn't worth it. "Let's just go guys. Bitch clearly loves younger dudes." While his cronies laughed, they stopped when Chie stuck her leg out, making their leader trip in the process of his exit. He yelled in pain, and got right up to stare her down, but the fire in her eyes confirmed this kid was really not worth the effort._

_So they left. Leaving Yu, Chie, and an incredibly uncomfortable boy. "Um, thanks." He offered, before promptly scarpering, leaving the girl breathing heavily, and a few steps from her classmate._

_"How do you feel?" Yu asked casually._

_"I… feel…" She panted, "Wonderful. Well, a little sick right now but…" She started to grin. "We just helped that kid. Well, I know it was mostly you, but…"_

_"Chie," he said seriously, "I would have never noticed what was going on in the first place, and I would never step in like you did. That was what chased them away, not my uncle. That was incredibly brave."_

_She blushed slightly at that assessment. "I just feel like… This I want to do. Protect people. Yukiko-chan, that kid, and… You." She added, completely abashed. "I want to be there for you. When you need me. And maybe even when you don't…"_

_Before she knew it, Yu was in front of her, tantalisingly close, and asking the last question she ever thought he would. "Will you be my girlfriend?"_

_Straight. Direct. And utterly absurd. "Wait… You know this is me, right?"_

_"That's the point," he said, stepping even closer, taking her hand. "It's because you're you, and that's what makes you amazing." He stroked her cheek with his free hand, and Chie was suddenly paralysed, and much more afraid than she was ten minutes ago. "You're strong, determined, and beautiful, and I know you don't believe that last one," he smiled as she snorted, "but you are. So, I'll ask again…" He didn't actually, moving down to touch their lips. She didn't move hers at all at first, mind entirely blank. Then they started moving on their own, wrapping round his, moving in tandem, as her hands wrapped around and clenched his back._

_Eventually they broke apart, and a red Chie looked up to Yu, uttering only two words. "God yes."_

"Wow, that's amazing," Labrys gushed, clapped, "this was even more like a movie!"

"The feeling when helping those people…" Chie said quietly, still smiling from the memory. "Honestly, it's why I wanted to become a cop. Protect people. Keep bad people from causing problems to those who don't deserve it."

Labrys couldn't help but be in awe. "Wow, Chie, you're amazing! I wish I knew what I was doing with myself. Sometimes I just feel stuck here…"

The maid sighed, and Chie felt incredibly sorry for her. "Hey," she said, making eye contact. "No depressing crap, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Labrys remembered. "Forgot about that. Okay," Labrys clicked her fingers, and said, apropos of nothing, "It's past midnight, time to get dirty! First time?"

Chie was snapped wide awake, and scotched down the bed, away from her friend. "W-what are you even asking?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Labrys teased, "Unless you never…"

"Well we did." She coughed. "I mean, I have. But I'm not sure I…"

"Come on, I'm not getting sex-ed from any other girl round here. Jeez, Fuuka would probably explode. And I can't use the internet; the stuff on there just gets weird." She looked at her friend with pleading eyes. "Just help me. I gotta learn. Plus, it's perfect sleepover material!"

Chie wasn't entirely comfortable, but she couldn't say no to those eyes. Or alternatively, just figured she was already sharing, so she might as well go all in. "O-okay. It happened one day. I went over to his…"

_She was over at Yu's. It hadn't been the first time, they had been dating for a couple months now, and she'd been to his house before, playing with Nanako-chan, or just cuddling in his room, but today felt different. Probably because they were alone, with no Dojima's to speak of, and what felt worse, it really excited her. There they were, watching a particularly crappy martial arts film, a cover over them, though it wasn't particularly cold. She was curled up against him, head on his breastbone, and she just couldn't concentrate on the film, and not just because of its quality. She was just far more interested in the man besides her. Deciding enough was enough, she rolled over and took Yu's lips into her own, and after a long drawn out kiss, started pecking the top of his chest, visible through the two open buttons at the top of his shirt. "You must really like that part." He quipped quietly, earning a smack on the arm._

_"Exactly." She said, in between her kisses. "The. Opposite." Then he held her, gently moving her away, and returned her gesture, slowly kissing his way down her neck, and down to her chest, though avoiding intruding on the breasts below. She sighed happily, but it wasn't enough. Today, she needed more. She edged her body upwards, her boyfriend startled by a face full of her womanhood. But he didn't stop, fully understanding her cue, sinking his lips deeper into her skin, moving a hand to cup- "Wait." She said weakly, slowly, and with regret, moving away from him._

_Yu, being the perfect gentleman, let her go without complete. "Sorry, did I read something wrong? I thought…"_

_"You thought right," Chie quietly reassured him, "But…"_

_"It's okay." He said soothingly, placing a hand on her knee. "Whenever you're ready, I will be."_

_"But I am." She took his hand in both of hers. "Yu, I love you."_

_"And I love you," he concurred, a phrase that always sent Chie's heart a flutter, while he placed his other hand over hers. "You know that, right?"_

_"Sure I do, it's just…" She exhaled, and closed her eyes. "I know I think I'm ready, but am I really ready?"_

_"Chie." He said sincerely. "I have everything we need. And we can take it slow. I want to enjoy every second, with you."_

_He was so collected, so prepared, so wonderful, Chie finally relented. "I'm ready." She said, standing up, holding her hands in hers. "Are you moving?"_

_"I was thinking why not down here," Yu murmured rather brashly._

_Chie frowned and placed a hand on her hip. "Yu Narukami, I am NOT losing my virginity on the same couch your cousin sits on when she watches Junes commercials."_

_In hindsight, it was a red flag when he paused for a scant few seconds before saying "Neither am I." He smirked, knowing she was right, and allowed himself to be lead up the stairs, and spend a long time with Chie…_

"Then you took off your clothes…"

"Obviously."

"And he got close."

"Yes…"

"So wait, he-"

"That's how it works."

"But then it makes you-"

"It's only the first time."

"But then did you do-"

"Jesus, no, it was the first time."

"But how did it make you feel?"

Chie had to think for a while, before sighing her answer. "Better than anything."

_Naked, panting, tangled in his sheets, Chie never guessed when looking at the transfer student this would be where she found true happiness. Looking up to her boyfriend, she told him "I love you."_

_"I figured you would afterwards," he smirked, only harder when he felt a weak kick under the sheets._

_"Arrogant bastard… But," she admitted, "You were amazing."_

_He kissed the top of her head tenderly. "So were you."_

_Things were peaceful, wonderfully so, for a blissfully long time. Eventually, Chie found it in her to ask a question. "Yu?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Will be together…" She knew the next word was tacky, and probably too much, but she had to ask. "Forever?"_

_She looked up to him, and their eyes locked, and he spoke completely seriously. "However long I can be here with you. And I will be trying my hardest to stay." Chie snuggled closer to him, for the first time in her life, feeling entirely safe, secure, and hopeful, for her future. _

_It was only a few months later it all went to shit._

"Damn," Labrys cursed.

"I know. Sorry to end it on a depressing note but-"

"Not that." She interrupted. "Sex sounds amazing. Now I have to get a boyfriend and everything…"

"That's what you got out of that?" Chie asked in disbelief. "'I gotta get me some of that'?"

"Totally, I know your trying to talk about how bad it is, but-" She stopped in her tracks, her diminutive sense of tact pricking her. "Oh, how could something so good turn into something so bad, uh, it must be so horrible…" she rushed out unconvincingly.

"Yeah." Chie said unimpressed. "I'm not going any further today, I can't…"

"That's great, because we have another sleepover activity to do!" She pointed over to her stacked bookshelf. "We watch a bad movie and laugh at it."

Chie smiled. "You know, that sounds good right now…"

* * *

_AN- Yeah, I diverted a little from canon here, but I wanted to speed things up. I got most of the 'happy' flashback done now, it might feel a little rushed, but I wanted to move on to what the core of Chie and Yu's relationship is in this fic. Besides, divergence is interesting! But as usual, tell me what you think, about that, the story as a whole, my writing, anything. I love feedback, so if anyone could find some time to give some, I'd be grateful! **-WN**_


	9. High School

Kanji was beginning to find the daily patrol of the laboratory a big waste of his time. It was easy, simply ticking off a checklist that Fuuka handed to him every morning about what was actually around, but the fact was with only one scientist working here nothing was ever really out of place. There might be some food wrappers out from the night before, but Fuuka always popped up and insisted on clearing up her own mess, all the while apologising profusely. Kanji liked manners, not formalities, but the simple decency of being nice to other people. She took it to a whole new level.

Today for instance. He had walked in the facility, still excited by the simple thrill of having to press a security panel to open the door, and spotted his supervisor leant back in her chair. Snoring. He walked over to her, quietly, keeping his distance. He squinted as he got near her, arms by her side, head lolled in a position that must have been uncomfortable. If he knew her better, he might have nudged her a little, so she wouldn't wake up with a crick in her neck, though, waking her up would just be far too awkward. He smirked when he saw a little bit of drool roll off her chin. _Shit, she's really out of it, _he noticed, kind of wishing he was having a nice snooze himself. Still, he had a job to do.

He tiptoed to her desk and made his way around her, looking for the drawer he was sure she pulled his inventory form out of last time. Picking one essentially at random, he was disappointed to find documents with far too many words to remotely interesting, and that weird gun again. He had looked up the show she said it was for, having nothing much to do while Chie and Labrys had their sleepover, (_Which I am __still__ pissed for not being invited to by the way, _he thought sourly), and finding nothing, which was a little odd, since it was the internet, but he knew some things did fall through the cracks.

He closed the drawer and went for the one below, surprised when he was greeted by yet another one of those guns. Thought it was the exact same design as the other, it was scuffed in more than a few places, yet was still infinitely more polished than its brother. More curiously, the Kirijo group logo, which now he thought about it, would be weird to find on cosplay accessory, was replaced by another, for something called 'S.E.E.S.'. _Man, her stuff makes no sense, _Kanji thought dismissively, pushing the drawer shut and going for the one below it.

He hit his jackpot, and pulled out one of the inventory forms. Creeping away from Fuuka, he started his work as usual, moving clockwise around the lab, mindlessly checking that all the weird little things were in the right places, there was the right amount of them, and so on. Half an hour in, he had been nicely dulled into doing the task on autopilot, before a groaning from the middle of the room turned his attention elsewhere.

"Urnnn…?" She sounded completely adorable, and looked it too, shielding her eyes from the harsh white light of the basement, and stretching with a wide yawn. "What time is it?" She wondered groggily. "I was only reading those reports for a short while… Let's see," she hummed, "I was just looking into the incident in Kyoto when I rested my eyes for a moment and-" Her eyes spotted Kanji, leaning on the table, glancing towards her, and she squealed. "Ah!"

She jerked up from her seat, gripping the armrests, promptly coming back down clutching her chest, panting. "Uh… Good morning?" Kanji offered, scratching the back of his head.

"Good," she gulped, "Morning, Tatsumi-san." As if something else had poked out to scare her, she jumped out of her seat and bowed low, speaking with a rapid tongue. "I am so sorry Tatsumi-san I am your superior and should be setting an example- not that I'm actually superior I mean of course I wouldn't imply that but what I am trying to insinuate-"

She was talking so quickly Kanji didn't know where he could jump in to turn the damn thing off. She managed to babble on for a couple minutes before she noticed the security guard's outstretched palm. "S'okay. At my last job Ma always found me face first in whatever project I spent the night on. Same in school. And the food court now I think about it…"

Fuuka managed to smile a little, regaining her usual posture. "Still, I apologise… The light down here isn't conducive to a natural sleep schedule…" She explained, shifting awkwardly.

"I bet, could get a tan down here…" Kanji joked, easing the woman away from making yet another long winded apology. "You must really like your job if you pull an all-nighter for it."

Fukka laughed, which morphed into a slow sigh as she sat back down. "Usually I do, but my job kind of requires… Other things, to happen, before I can really be useful. So at times like now all I can do is look over what's happened before, so we're ready for next time…"

"Next time," Kanji repeated inquisitively, as Fuuka winced at her slip, "Time for what?"

"Oh, er, just business stuff mostly," she shrugged. She had realised that a vague blanket cover all statement would probably be more effective than being forced to make up random lies on the spot to explain the stranger aspects of the Kirijo group to its' two newcomers. "Stuff that's much to boring to really explain."

Kanji wouldn't let the matter lie however. "Well, I got time down here," he said, waving the inventory form, "I know I ain't that sharp, but…"

_Darn, _Fuuka cursed. _Lying is so much harder than I thought… _"What I mean is, Tatsumi-san, completely irrelevant to your, I am confident, more than sufficient mental faculties," she added timidly, "I, um, find the subject boring. So why don't we talk about something else?" She had to restrain herself from punching the air. _Good job Fuuka!_

Being shut down so completely was a little surprising, but he definitely had one thing to talk about. "Whatever. First off though? I ain't 'Tatsumi-san', I'm Kanji."

As he thumbed to himself, Fuuka smiled a little, and nodded. "Okay, and so it's fair, I'm Fuuka. Please don't call me Fuuka-san, even if I am your supervisor…" She shivered. "It makes me feel… Old."

A sentence like that begged for an actual figure, but if one lesson Mrs. Tatsumi had forced on her son stuck, it was that women and their age made for a volatile topic. "Sure. Still find it weird I'm eighteen…" He folded his arms. "I mean, I ain't nowhere near bein' an adult yet, but law says I gotta be one in a couple years..."

"I'm sure you'll find your way," Fuuka said approvingly, "Though if I'm being honest, twenty just passed me by. I guess I must have been working…"

_Man, do you do anything but work? _Kanji thought. He then remembered Chie's advice by the beach. "It's just I was still at school like, three months ago," He segued in lumbering fashion, "and now I'm here… What was your high school like Fuuka?"

"Oh! Um…" A reoccuring problem she had with her time at Gekkoukan high was that there was only a very small pool of people she could actually discuss it with freely. "It was… Very modern. Right in the middle of Tatsumi Port Island, and it was actually owned by the Kirijo group so its funding was always more than adequate."

"Ours was crap," Kanji replied candidly, "Was just a big buildin' right in the middle of farmland. Whole think looked like it came out of the budget catalogue. Prolly did too, no one gives a shit about the countryside."

"Hmm," Fuuka pondered, tapping her chin, "I never really considered the advantages I had of going to a privately owned school…" She thought for a few moments. "Perhaps the government should be focussing on reaching a similar standard?"

"Yeah, or you guys could just make crappier schools so we don't look as bad," Kanji replied, smiling.

While it was an obvious joke, Fuuka moved back in her chair in horror. "That would be awful! Education is really important, it's what makes us, well, people."

To say the security was unconvinced by that would be an understatement. "Nah, it was always the stuff outside'a class that made me."

"But your qualifications!" The scientist insisted. "The lessons you learnt!" _S.E.E.S was technically a school club, _she pondered, _would that count? _She nodded firmly. "If I didn't go to my Gekkoukan, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"Ain't that just from knowing Mitsuru-san from there though?" He subsequently clamped a large hand over his mouth, realising how tactless he'd sounded. "Shit- I mean, 'course you're talented and know stuff, but isn't it always, like, knowing people which is- Fuck."

Fuuka wasn't accustomed to seeing someone else get flustered, and giggled, which only made boy's face redder. "Hehe, it's okay," she reassured, with a wide grin on her face, "it's kind of true. Our relationship puts me in a unique place for this position."

She had confused him again. "Uh," he droned, squinting slightly, "like how?"

"Business stuff."

"Oh, okay." Her expression was stern in a frightening way, and he quickly changed topics. "So, uh, what was Mitsuru like when she was younger? Chie said I should get dirt on the boss or summit."

The researcher rolled her eyes. "You won't find any. She was a model student, even more so than me, and I never stepped out of line!"

"You're telling me she was a bit stuffy then?"

"Not at all!" Fuuka objected. "She was just a lot more involved, and it wasn't just because her family owned the school! She was the student council president and another club I was part of, as well as always getting the best grades. You know she can speak fluent English, and even French?"

Kanji just scowled. "Don't talk to me about languages. Almost didn't graduate 'cus of 'em." He could clearly see there were no juicy secrets- Mitsuru seemed to be as dominant in everything during high school to the same degree she was now. "So much else go on there?"

"Oh lots-" _Which I can't talk about, _she thought blankly. "Um, Akihiko was one of my friends, and he was the captain of the boxing team. He was obsessed with getting stronger and winning everything. This one time, he and Junpei-kun decided to have a beef bowl contest, Junpei barely managed one, but Sanada-senpai went through three!"

"Dude sounds like Chie's dream man," Kanji quipped. "What else?"

"Another time, Junpei-kun was getting on Yukari-chan's nerves, and because she does archery, she bet him she could shoot an apple off of his head! Minato-kun," she paused for a second, eyes glazing over as she said his name. "Sorry. So Minato-kun sort of bullied him into it, and the arrow just missed Junpei's face. We're still not completely sure if she wanted to miss the apple…"

Her offhanded retelling of a story where a man almost got an arrow through his forehead left Kanji wide-eyed. "Jeez. Worst that could happen in Inaba was Chie kickin' ya in the nuts. Or any of the girl's cooking…"

"Shinjiro-san could cook," she said, eyes glazing over once again, "One time I walked into our dorm, and he was totally watching a cooking programme but pretending to be asleep, I'm sure of it! He never really let us try anything though…"

Kanji tilted his head in concern. "You okay? Ya kinda zoned out a couple times there."

Fuuka tried to nod, but her smile was sorrowful. "Sorry. Shinjiro-san and Minato-kun were really good people. They were important to us, and…"

She looked straight to the floor, looking so small that Kanji's heart cracked right along the middle. "Shit, sorry, I shouldn't have said anythin'…"

"No." She said firmly, her strength seemingly coming from nowhere. "It happened years ago, I should be moving forward, it would be what they wanted." She grabbed her upper arm shyly. "They both died in my first year. I'd only really known them for a few months, but it still…"

Of course, Kanji was stumped. He'd had his own share of tragedy in the past, whether it was fair or otherwise, but even with the battles he'd faced during the Inaba murders, the death of his friends was a possibility only perilously close, and it was a mercy that the threats were never followed through. "Must've been tough," he said carefully.

Fuuka sighed. "One day they were there, the next..." She shook her head. "The funny thing is we're all like this, every time we think of them. I mean, Akihiko and Yukari-senpai were always much stronger than me, I would have thought they would..." She bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling. "Even Mitsuru-san..."

"If people are special to ya it's hard to let 'em go," Kanji murmured. Only realising after a few seconds that he'd actually said anything, and had actually gotten listened to, he continued. "Sounds completely normal t' me. Shit takes time, an' a lot at that."

"You're right," she inhaled, breathing out slowly. "Thank you." She looked back up to him. "So, were there any eventful occurrences during your high school education?"

"There was a cross dressing pageant-" He stopped himself before he could run his mouth any further about that shitshow. "Not really! Er, as I said, I think it's the stuff outside of there that counts. Hell, I ditched a lot in my first year…"

Upon hearing this, the woman's jaw dropped. "You ditched?!"

"Uh, yeah?"

"But how?" Fuuka spluttered. "Surely your parents would have known? The teachers too, and then they would have send the truancy officer…"

"Wait a sec," he stopped her, waving a hand, "They were supposed to care?" He slapped his forehead. "Now I'm offended they didn't put the effort in…"

"Surely your parents would have punished you," she said incredulously, "School is important."

_Spoken like a real nerd, _Kanji thought wryly. "Actually no," he said, "Not really sure why now I think about it... She gave me free rein all over really, 'cept when it came to the shop."

"Your family ran a business?" Fuuka said. "That's impressive."

"Yeah, Tatsumi Textiles. Only one of 'em town, got a fair bit of business." _Business I made, _he thought dismally. Biting his tongue, and annoyed that actually saying it still took a lot of effort, he made his confession. "I… actually made some of the stock."

Fuuka's eyes practically budged out of their sockets. "Really? Wow, you have to teach me!" Fuuka exclaimed, "I have all the equipment and material already and I've been wanting to learn embroidery and knitting for so long but everything begins to fray or I try something to hard or I prick my finger and oh can you please?"

Kanji felt two emotions, first off a little bit of fear, overwhelmed by his supervisor's extreme enthusiasm, and second being an intense relief, that this wouldn't be yet another girl making him feel like he was strange or completely ashamed of his unconventional hobby. "Uh, Great! Actually I forgot to bring my stuff so I'm a little out of practice." He let his mind run away with him. "Shit, I can make that doll for Chie, wait I can spruce our uniforms up a little, dude, I can make some cute as hell cushions!"

"Oh, that all sounds amazing!" Fuuka gushed in admiration. "When can we get started?"

"Well, um…" he drawled. It hit him at that moment that he would actually be having to teach her, show her everything from the fundamentals to the more complex movements, and that wouldn't be easy. But dammit, if he could teach Nanako to make a cute little dog, he could teach this genius to do anything! "Tomorrow, I guess? I think I need to think up some sort of lesson plan, can't do this shit on a dime," he said seriously, with Fuuka nodding with a similar fervour. "When I do stuff, I do it right."

"I agree with that approach," Fuuka said, but her voice began to waver. "It's a lot to learn though, isn't it?"

"'Course," Kanji grunted, thumping his chest, "But your bein' taught by the best there is. On this island right now at least. No reason to freak out."

_His confidence is really quite something,_ Fuuka thought brightly. Sure, the last time she really tried to learn a new skill were Shinji's occasional cooking lessons, with only passable results, but this time she felt something different, a feeling that she would get something bigger out of this particular piece of tuition. "Your right! I'm be looking forward to studying under you," She said, smiling. A quick look downwards however wiped it right off of her face. "Hmmm, I still have so much of this to read…"

Kanji shrugged. "S'cool. Get your stuff done so we got time tomorrow. I still gotta finish this off," he pointed out, waving the inventory form.

Fuuka nodded, and resigned herself to digesting pages upon pages of mostly useless information, while Kanji moved on with his incredibly pointless bookkeeping exercise. But time after time, they kept coming back to how nice the next day would be, to learn, to teach, to do something different from their dull, daily routine.


	10. Working Security

To say Kanji wasn't a morning person was a bit of an understatement. Give him an hour past waking and he would be the most genial person you could ever come across, with his own charms at least, but try any interaction even a minute beforehand and you would only be asking for trouble. Chie was better yet worse; some days she would be bombing out of the house with a smile on her face within ten minutes of completing her slumber, but on others, looking her the wrong way before noon would entitle you to a swift and painful punishment. Unfortunately for everyone around her, this was one of those days, but Tensei Takenowa wasn't someone she could consider giving a piece of her mind to for even a second.

He'd rapped fiercely on their doors, throwing them open without waiting for a response, telling his security in turn that they would be needed in the meeting room immediately, leaving promptly thereafter. Kanji had considered telling him to get bent, but held his groggy tongue, and afterwards regretted that he didn't when he saw the time on his alarm- 5AM.

Both dressed, the security guards met in the hallway, not even with enough time for a greeting, and began to walk to their appointment. "Aaargh, who the hell does he think he is?" Kanji groaned, rubbing his eye furiously.

"I dunno," Chie yawned, eyes mostly closed, "I wonder what's up…"

Kanji's head snapped sideways. "Wait, you think something's up?"

"Probably. We're Mitsuru's security after all." She began constructing an elaborate fight scene in her head, of her and her partner fighting off hundreds of assassins approaching their cowering boss, and suddenly felt much more awake. "And we'll take care of business, right?"

Even Kanji could tell she was off in her usual dream world, but her enthusiasm was admittedly infectious. "Right," he nodded, cracking his knuckles as they stepped into the meeting room. There, Tensei sat waiting for them, opposite two empty chairs in front of two identical-looking documents.

"I'll be brief," estate manager began, not even waiting for the security team to sit, "It seems one of our smaller competitors has entered a bit of a freefall in value. Some of their less than legal endeavours will be coming to light in this morning's papers."

"Eh?" Kanji grunted, falling back into the seat. "That's interestin' n' all," he spat, volume rising, "but it don't explain why you woke us up at 5 in the goddamn mornin'."

Their elder rolled his eyes. "I would like to remind you your employment contract specifically notes this job requires your availability at all hours. Your impudence aside," he drawled, ignoring the fierce scowl generated by the comment, "It concerns you both as such a situation provides a unique opportunity. They have some assets that could be of use to the group, if only to keep them out of the hands of our contemporaries, therefore Kirijo-san intends to make a deal for the controlling stake in the company. Considering all vultures circling, she wants this done quickly. A meeting has been arranged for 8. Hence why I woke you up at 5 in the 'goddamn morning'," he deadpanned, to a lukewarm reception.

Chie zoned out of pretty much the whole explanation, idly flicking through the papers in front of her, eyes widening at the mug shots of six very intimidating men, and they were mug shots, complete with the prison uniforms and faded height chart on the wall behind. "Tekino Security…" She murmured, looking at the logo on the bottom corner of the page. She looked to Tensei. "Are they the other guy's security?"

"Very astute," he said dryly. "Yes. As you can see, we have an understaffed security unit compared to most other companies. Mitsuru-san's insistence, although I have never understood why. In any case, we still need to appear suitably intimidating, which," he cast them both a piercing glance, "may be difficult."

Kanji held back a snarl. "An' we break heads if anything goes wrong, yeah?"

"Well, yes, but it won't," their elder pointed out. "This company is slightly criminal perhaps, and hiring convicted felons is a real indicator of their style, but they aren't a gang. This isn't ever going to turn into an assassination attempt, or hostage situation."

Her daydreams coming out of stuffy old Takenowa's mouth made Chie realise how farfetched they really were. "Well, of course," she laughed nervously, "So we just gotta stand around and look tough?"

The estate manager shook his head slowly. "Not just tough Miss Satonaka. You are both representing the group, and in impromptu negotiations like these, the intimidation factor of one CEO's security onto the other is a small thing, but it can tip the balance into our favour."

The pair of them doubted how important they could really be in a business deal, but the way he said it gave them a sense of duty about the whole thing. "What do we do?" The brunette asked seriously.

"In most cases, be the professionals we hired you to be. In your cases… Lie. A lot, and I don't mean this to be an insult," he stressed, noting the pouts pushing out of his underlings' lips, "You simply haven't been in the field for long enough to have any interesting stories to impress people."

"We had the interview here," Kanji argued, "We took down some really tough bastards."

"You will be dealing with ex-convicts, Tatsumi," he reminded him, "They will have taken down tougher, in such a manner they never got back up." An uneasy silence settled as Tensei studied the two of them, both wondering why they had taken up a profession that included mingling with murderers. "I've decided," their elder declared firmly. He pointed to Kanji. "You'll be in the meeting room. It takes advantage of your more imposing stature and means you don't talk much." He moved his finger over to Chie. "You will be outside the door, and as such, will have to present yourself as convincing opposition to your counterparts. As I said, lie." He stood up from his chair. "I have other duties to fulfil, making sure the rooms are polished, ensuring food is available for our guests, and so on, but I will be back in an hour. Those dossiers contain instructions on how to construct a real security operation, and I expect it to be have read and memorised when I return."

He left with little pomp, scurrying off to do one of a thousand things he must have to do now this business deal had scuppered everyone's schedules. "O….kay?" Chie said blankly, turning to her partner. "Man, this all feels super weird."

He nodded, scratching his forehead. "Didn't think this gig'd get so complicated…" He snapped his fingers. "Hey! That old bastard said he didn't trust me talkin'!"

His friend shook her head. "Sheesh, that bothered you? I'm jealous, you get to stand around, while I gotta talk to all these creeps." She shivered slightly. "And we still have all this stuff to read."

Kanji looked to the table and balked. Sure, it was only a few sides of A4, but it was writing in the most boring script imaginable, which was also tiny and filled the whole page. It was exactly the kind of thing he thought he'd never had to read again once he graduated, bar the odd manual for a sewing machine. "…Shit."

"I read one half you read the other?" Chie offered. "Then we can digest it or whatever." He nodded, and got stuck into reading, while she gave herself a pat on the back. _Woo, teamwork._

The lone limousine was a slight disappointment; the security guards had been hoping for an entrance with a helicopter, or at least a whole convoy. Six figured emerged from the vehicle, two smaller men, who must have been the CEO and their lawyer, it was impossible to tell who was which, along with the hulking figures they recognised from the dossiers. The business people were all smiles, Mitsuru and Takenowa bowing to the pair gracefully to their counterparts, and when the gesture was returned, slowly beckoned them inside the building. Meanwhile, both company's muscle were eyeing each other up and down, looking for a hint of weakness. Chie forced herself to be stoic, while Kanji found things to be a little easier since he matched most of the men's height.

Now came the tricky part. The guests tried to follow their boss, but the resident security team neatly sidestepped together to block the door, keeping their arms crossed, silently praying that it didn't come across that they had spent the last ten minutes practicing the manoeuvre. Their opposition certainly weren't impressed, but they at least got the message, the one at the head of their group stepping forwards, and lifting his arms to his sides. Gulping as subtly as she could managed to hold back her groan, Chie stepped towards him and started running her hands all over his body, hoping that holding a stern frown would keep away any blushing. It was awkward enough for her to have been honing these skills on Kanji, and she couldn't decide whether it was easier or harder on a stranger.

Deciding he was clean, she let him into the building, Kanji following carefully. She repeated the motion three more times on the other security guards, letting them through in turn, stepping through the doors herself when her work was done and closing them firmly. She saw the security guards had formed a line, following the journey Kanji had made to the meeting room. The halls were deathly quiet, aside from the murmurings of the businesspeople making small talk, getting louder as they reached their destination. At the meeting room, as agreed, Kanji went inside, letting two of the others come with him, closing the door behind them.

The meeting room felt strange now it was actually being used for a meeting. The two CEOs were on opposite sides of the table, their aides beside them, talking in a tongue he found intelligible, of stock and liquidity and business. He took his place behind Mitsuru, standing, and holding his hands in each other in the stance he and Chie had both figured would look the least ridiculous. The urge to fidget was ridiculous, and he was reminded of the days he used to have in his classroom, where the talk of the adults washed over him, and all he had left was to zone out before the bell rang and he could make his escape.

Outside, Chie stood by the door in the exact same pose as her partner, slightly perturbed by the other security flanking her on both sides. She could her mumblings from the room, but knew it wouldn't be terribly interesting to try and listen in, so settled with staring at the wall.

"You haven't done this for long have you?"

Chie wasn't sure how to react. She turned to the source of the noise on her right, trying to think of a response that would make her seem as tough as Tensei wanted her to looks, before the man on her left interrupted. "Yeah, how old are you kid? Christ. Kirijo's recruiting young these days…"

She flashed to the other side hotly, finding the bald man's sneer infuriating. "Old enough to get this job," she said flatly.

He held up his hands, and she realised the curve on his lips wasn't as much a sneer as it was a wry smirk. "Hey," he said, slightly amused, "I'm just here to get paid, like you. Could do without any tension, alright?"

His partner snorted. "He's right kid. This ain't a business to make enemies. Reason I asked is 'cus you never found this," he added, causing Chie to turn, and nearly jump out of her skin when she saw the six barrelled revolver in his hands. Yelping, she swung her foot high into the bottom of his fist, knocking the piece out of his hands and scuttling to the other side of the corridor. She was going to follow up with some kind of strike, but the pair's soft laughter disarmed her.

"She's quick," the bald one noted, pointedly keeping his eyes on her while the other retrieved his weapon.

"Still don't explain how she got this job," he replied, making a show to Chie of flipping out the barrel, and letting the bullets fall into his palm. "See? No danger. Though if the thing was cocked when you kicked it out, then the damage would be coming out of your paycheck, if you didn't get fired that is."

While somewhat fascinated by the coolness of these two individuals, she was also indignant to being treated like a child. "I'm not a kid," she muttered, wincing with how immature it sounded.

"Sure you ain't," the hairier one said, smiling. "Listen, we all started in the same place, not knowin' how to do things, makin' asses of ourselves. Just wondering how you managed to get yourself such a sweet post so quickly."

"Trust me," his partner laughed, "This guy made so many slip-ups early on. Almost got himself killed."

"Makes ya wanna carry a gun, that's for sure," he agreed.

"Wait, weren't you both yakuza?" She blurted out, instantly regretting it. She was relieved when she got impressed nods in return.

"So she does the pre-reading, that's more than we did," Baldy said to his co-worker.

"Yes, that's true," he answered. "Don't feel bad by the way, you're supposed to be reading up on your competition in this industry. The only reason we had nothin' on you is 'cus there's nothing to go on. Need an employment record, and you've been here…?"

"A week maybe?" she filled in for him.

"Yeah. Not much of a paper trail. Anyway, yeah. We both did some bad stuff when we were younger, worked in the same family actually. Job went south, we had a stretch in the joint, and we decided to go straight. Hard to turn back on that kind of thing sometimes, but people can overlook it if you're talented."

"And we are talented," he friend said seriously. "Maybe we should've looked at the offer for this place, I'm getting tired of moving around all the time."

"Wait a sec…" He snapped his fingers. "Shit, isn't this the place Miziguwa had a tryout for?"

The bald guard nodded. "Oh yeah. Heard he got his temple smashed in by some girl who was barely out of school…" His grin widened when he saw a spark of recognition in Chie's eyes. "Oh man, you did that?"

His partner laughed. "Maybe we should give you more credit. Guy's an asshole, and dumb as hell, but I'm impressed."

Chie found herself smiling, only small, but it brought a certain level of comfort. "Thanks, but I had help from my partner, it was a team effort…"

"So?" The hairy guard grunted. "Your partner is your life here. As long as the two of you are on the same wavelength, you aren't gonna have any problems, understand?" His voice had a different air there, it feeling reminiscent to the old men with flowing grey beards in Chie's kung-fu flicks, and she nodded eagerly. "And by the way, if you wanted to find my gun, you have to be unafraid of poking around my crotch and ass." His delivery was blunt, and she moved away a little, but he simple shrugged. "Hey, it's your life on the line. Some people aren't as nice as we are, hell, in this industry most people aren't as nice as we are. The two guys in there with your friend have 3 murders between them."

Chie's eyebrows jumped straight up, the bald man laughing once again. "Oh, they're not dangerous anymore. They have a family to support now, that's why they have this job. Which reminds me," he said, snapping his fingers and pointing at the young gun, "may I ask why you're here? Don't get me wrong," he reassured, "Taking Miziguwa down is impressive, but there's no way in hell anyone as rich as Mitsuru Kirijo would chance a couple newbies on her life. Are you guys related or something?"

The question was probing, and no answers were forthcoming. "No…" She answered.

"Are you both martial arts prodigies? Like in 'Young Rising Fist'?"

She smiled sadly. "Great movie, but no."

"Oh, it must be some kind of training program, and there's a bunch of guys ready to step in if things go wrong."

_Now that would be reassuring, _Chie thought blankly. "Nope."

The two guards looked at each other with an incredulous expression? "So" one asked slowly, "how did you get here?

She was silent for a few moments. "I don't know," she sighed, then stuck a thumb up and nodded, "But I can do the job, no sweat!

The pair narrowed their eyes. "Yes, but do you deserve to be here? This gig isn't a game kid." There was the word again, and Chie's temper flared up. "This is life and death, not just yours, but everyone who works here. Can you handle that responsibility?"

"I caught a murderer!" She blurted out, turning away the moment the words left her mouth. Their eyebrows were raised, but she dug her heels into the ground. "So yeah, I can handle life and death."

A familiar voice gasped behind her. "You did what?"

The accent was unmistakable, and Chie didn't bother turning to make a greeting, or to supress her groan. "Hey Labrys-chan."

The maid bounced into her vision, with a whole bundle of questions. "A murderer? The one that was in your town? For real? How'd you do it? Was there a fight?" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Did you kill them?"

The newcomer made the situation was a little situation a little surreal for the external security. "What's with the outfit?" The bald one asked.

Labrys looked down at herself, brushing at some of the frills and sticking her tongue out. "Mitsuru's weird, any time I bring it up to the other maids they just stare like I'm crazy. Or it was her dad who liked it. Anyway," she finished, waving her hands, "who the hell are you guys?"

"We're just external security," the hairy one explained, "But right now," he continued, nodding to her friend, "We are way more interested in her murder story."

Labrys nodded. "I like you people!" She turned back to Chie, "C'mon, tell tell tell!"

"I think its bullshit…" The bald guard murmured.

"It's not alright?!" The trio stared at her, making Chie shrink slightly. _Calm it Satonaka, _she thought tiredly, _be careful with this, okay... _The nature of the incidents made it very difficult to talk about them openly. However, Takenowa did say something about trying to sound impressive... She would have to think on her feet. "Ok, so, at the start of the second year of high school, a couple people were found dead. One of them went to my school."

Labrys gasped, though the more experienced gentlemen were not so moved. The balder one pulled out his phone. "Where was this?"

She wasn't sure whether revealing the location of her home was a good idea. But she decided she was in too deep to back out. "Inaba."

He tapped on the phone for a few moments, and nodded, passing it to his partner. "It checks out, go on."

"Well, he tried kidnapping one of my friends," she coulldn't help but spit the word 'friends', "but we found her before anything bad happened."

"Wow, you saved her!" Labrys exclaimed excitedly.

"It does mention a girl going missing but being returned…" The hairy guard noted.

"So we all decided to look into it. There was on kid who killed my teacher in a copycat crime. We found him at our Junes and brought him to the cops."

"Yeah, says about a kid being arrested there." Labrys drawled. The two security guards looked down, realised neither of them had the phone, and snatched it off the maid, much to her amusement. "Hey, I'm checkin' too ya doofuses!"

"Anyway," Chie went on, "Eventually we found the real guy who was doing it." She stared at the elder pair, hard, and finished her story. "We beat the crap out of him, and the police carted him off. The end."

Her gravitas unsettled all three of them, but that still wasn't a confirmation. "What was his name?"

"Tohru Adachi," she snarled. She still didn't have an inch of forgiveness for him, the sad misogynist bastard.

The bald one, currently in possession of the phone, nodded. "Yeah, that checks out. Could be bullshit still," he admitted, "but you don't strike me as a liar. Doesn't explain how you got this job," he said pointedly, "but I think you'll be able to handle it."

On that last word, the door opened, to the two CEOs striding out with warms smiles and a handshake, while the remaining security, including Kanji, stalked close by. He nodded to Chie, just to say 'all good', before following his charge. Everyone followed the group, in a fashion not nearly as organised as before, including Labrys. "I'm guessing your loverboy was involved in all that stuff with the murders," she asked quietly, the pair of them at the rear of the pack.

"Yes," she replied simply, not entirely pleased at how much she'd revealed.

"I can see what you were gettin' at with it making things intense," Labrys said, with the understanding of someone wanting to empathise but still not quite getting there. "Ya could've told me about that stuff with the murders ya know…"

"I know," she whispered, "There's just a lot we really can't talk about, both of us."

Labrys wait a few moments before asking her really question. "Who was your 'friend'? The one who got taken?"

The animosity in her words earlier were not well hidden, and the inquiry was evidence of that. "Later," she said finally, as they arrived at the front of the mansion. Mitsuru was personally seeing her new business partner away, while the two security guards she had been talking to nodding as they entered the limousine. She returned the gesture, and just like that they were gone, and the mansion compound was as empty as ever. Their boss entered the building without so much as glancing at the pair, though pointedly asking Labrys what she was doing there. A look from Tensei sent the maid scarpering back to whatever task she had been distracted from.

The estate manager looked at his security guard tiredly. "You were both sufficient today." He too entered the building, although with a reminder that their daily duties still had to be fulfilled. Once he left, the partners looked at eachother, and with a low enthusiasm high five, went on to finish their work for the day.

* * *

He was shattered, just utterly shattered. But the tailor had agreed to teach, and if it involved fabric by god he'd do it right. He sat nervously until the agreed time, twiddling his thumbs, lacking any basic material to fiddle with. He hoped Fuuka brought the right stuff; he had been _very _explicit, and was pretty freaked out by the idea of having to do any kind ad-libbing from his planned lesson. It was just going to be a simple introduction to knitting, on making the slipknot and how to turn the loops into a simple cube of stitches. It wasn't like he hadn't taught before, he had tried with his friends and some of the local kids, the latter having much more success, something he tactfully kept to himself.

An incredibly faint knocking pulled him from recalling the strange half cat half puddle Naoto had somehow managed to produce. He doubted whether the sound was real, until he heard it again, with only slightly more force. Standing up from his bed, he walked over to the door and opened it, looking down to see a sizable rainbow of wool, cupped inside a pair of arms. "Good evening, Kanji-kun," was its muffled greeting, "You never specified any colours you may need so I thought…"

He shook his head, fully aware of her limited visibility, and led her inside, carefully taking the stack from her and planting it on the floor. "Uh, thanks, but we aren't gonna be mixing colours for a while. Gotta build up to that sorta thing, y'know?"

Feeling somewhat dejected, she nodded, and looked around the room absentmindedly. "Hmm, this doesn't feel very homely…" Her features snapped to worry as she realised her faux pas. "I'm sorry Kanji-kun It's not appropriate for me to criticise your domicile and its incredibly rude and there's something to be said for minimalism and-"

"You're doin' that thing again," he cut in sharply, shrugging. "S'cool, I know it ain't much so far, only been here a week or so right?"

While she still looked a little distressed, she calmed down considerably. "I know my room here was much similar when I first moved in. Now it's covered in papers and computers and snacks…" She giggled. "I think I actually prefer this now I think about it."

"Well, it ain't stayin' like this for long," he replied, "Once I'm stocked up this place'll be full of crap."

"Oh," she nodded, "with textile supplies you mean? What do you think you'll make?"

"Uh, I dunno. Room at home was mostly animals. Maybe I'll do other stuff here. Then again it has to be animals to be cute…" He realised too late he was voicing his inner thoughts and, ears burning, grabbed the pillows from his bed and put them on opposite sides of the yarn mountain on the floor. "Geddown here and we'll get started."

She obliged, and they took their places, Kanji taking two balls of the yarn, a purple one for himself, and a sea-green one for his pupil. He pulled out two sets of needles from the yarn-stack, and pushed the rest aside with a large cast of his arm. He felt the ball in his hand, trying to a get a feel for the material. _Man, this feels like crap compared to the kind we usually get, _he thought with some disappointment. Then again, he knew he was a little rusty, and that might help ease the pressure. "So," he exhaled, "First thing you gotta do is make the slipknot, that's where it all starts. Ya make a loop like so," he began to demonstrate, "put this through like this, and then pull it tight round the needle. Got that?" There was a certain vacancy in her expression that didn't exactly boost Kanji's confidence. "Wan' me to show ya again?" he asked helpfully.

She nodded, and so he repeated the motion, her eyes locked onto his dexterous hands. "I see," she murmered, "So make the knot like this, and then-" She stared at the thread, somehow unravelling the knot she had just made right away.

Kanji couldn't supress his groan, which he was slightly ashamed of. "Nah, you gotta do it like _this_," he showed her again, "See?" It took a short while, which the security guard's hot headed side found infuriating, but eventually the scientist's needles became a mirror to his own. "Alright! Now, ya gotta cast on. This is tricky, you gotta twist it round your hand and… Ya know what, come over here, it'll be easier to see."

She shuffled behind him and watched carefully over his shoulder, making him slightly uncomfortable by umming and ahhing over a technique that in reality was relatively simple, in his reality at least. "Okay," Fuuka said slowly, "I think I'd like to try." She went back to her spot, and remarkably, performed the motion exactly as he had shown, yarn wrapped perhaps not perfectly, but well enough around the end of her needle. His surprise must have shown, because she started frowning at her work. "What did I do wrong…" she wondered curiously.

"No, uh," Kanji objected, waving his needles to get her attention. "You did good." Her delighted smile welled up a surprising amount of pride in Kanji's chest. He'd always liked helping people out, even if it was only in the last couple of years that he'd really gotten the opportunity. _Maybe I should try teachin' Chie again, _he thought, _Hell, I bet Labrys'd give it a good shot. _"Right, so, now we do the actual stitching part. You gotta kinda stick the other needle through the loop, move it around, stick it through again, get rid of the old one an-" Realising he was rambling, he thumbed over his shoulder. "Just watch me again, its easier."

Once again she angled herself behind him to watch him work, asking questions when necessary. "So you do this to the of the cast?"

"Yeah," he answered, eyes still on his yarn, "Then you gotta switch hands an' do it the other way."

She watched for another three passes, and went back to her pillow to try herself. Just before she gave it a try, she asked a question. "When do I stop?"

"Don't," he grunted, already lost in his own design, "Ya learn by repetition so go through the whole ball."

With that she set to work. It was tricky, the moves were complicated, and she already knew it wasn't going completely correctly, with some of the yarn misplaced in the pattern. Still, she stuck with it, and, settled into a steady rhythm, to the point where she felt she could talk while her hands committed the motions to memory. "This is a fascinating exercise…"

"I like it," her teacher said, also staying fixed on his motions, "Keeps me occupied. Rather get something outta my time then just sit in front of thee TV, ya know?"

"Oh yes," Fuuka agreed. "Making things has a certain thrill." She laughed a little. "I shouldn't really call it a thrill, I never make anything exciting…"

"Really?" Kanji said curiously. "You make stuff?"

"Oh yes," the scientist replied. "I've always been into technology, how everything worked. I started taking things apart and then together again, then I actually started just buying the parts and trying to get somewhere with them. There were stereos, radios, and oh! I made this watch," she held up her wrist, "I gave some other ones to my friends. I'm not sure if they wear them still…"

Kanji was surprised. He'd never considered a poindexter could be anything more than a smartass in his eyes, and here was proof there was something more material in book learning. "That isn't exciting? It's pretty damn cool if ya ask me."

"It's nothing really," she downplayed, in a way that came across as very rehearsed. "Once you learn how something works, it's quite simple to emulate…"

"Same with stitching," Kanji pointed out, "Yet our shop is still the only one in Inaba. C'mon, at least admit you're proud of what you can do."

She was quiet, but then a small smile grew on her face. "Yes, I am. Sorry, I sometimes think it's arrogant to feel that way."

Turning away from his hands, which were producing a perfect if rather generic stitch, he looked to his pupil seriously. "I know that feeling, and it's just plain dumb to have. There's enough crap in the world without piling yourself on top of it all." He looked back down to his needles, sighing and shaking his head. "Spent a long time being ashamed of this whole thing and it really wasn't worth it."

"The whole thing… You mean sewing and knitting?" Fuuka asked with slight naivety. "Why would you?"

He looked at her strangely. "You're kidding right?" She looked up from her stitch and tilted her head, so Kanji pointed between his piercings and his scar. "Get the picture?"

"Um…" Her tongue was pressed between her lips, and Kanji was astounded from this lacklustre demonstration of her common sense. "You feel made you can't make any facial features from fabric?"

"Ack! No," he rubbed his eyes, "I just ain't what people expect to see behind the counter, alright? They want a wrinkly old bag who's always smiling, not some thug…"

Fuuka hummed, considering his words. "I see. Your issue is with people's expectations. I'm not sure if I've ever had that problem, people can usually work out a lot about me from one conversation! I could say my parents expectations were a little problem," she reached feebly, "They always wanted me to be a doctor.

He looked at her dumbly. "I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing here…"

"I mean I could still be a doctor," she insisted weakly, "Its just my work here doesn't lend to a thesis particularly well. Maybe when things calm down…"

The conversation had left the road and left Kanji in the metaphorical woods. "The hell is a thesis?"

"It's a piece of research submitted to an official body, which can grant you a doctorate in your field!" The woman replied brightly. "I still don't think that would make my parents happy though," she sighed, "When they heard I started a technology club at school, they kept telling me it wouldn't help with entrance exams. It was discouraging, but I enjoyed it, so it wasn't much of a price to pay."

"A club huh? So ya talked about making stuff?"

"Yup, and whatever was interesting, like discussing which smartphone was objectively better." Her left eye twitched slightly. "Those were _great… _Not at all dull and repetitive."

Kanji sensed the ire in her tone and automatically tried to lighten the mood. "I hate electronics and stuff, always break on me. Tried using a circuit kit, like, a three year olds, to make a dog with a wagging tail, an' I damn near burned the house down."

"It was a good idea though," Fuuka reassured him, "I could come up with something if you'd like?"

He shook his head firmly. "That was years ago, not worth going over. Got better things to do."

"I see…" She saw she was getting close to the end of her yarn, and panicked slightly. "Ahh, Kanji-san, what do I do?!"

The worry proved infectious. "Shit! Uh…" He breathed slowly. "You cast off. Just do what I do, here…" He quietly showed her the motion, which she imitated quickly, far too quickly, roughly finishing her greenish patch. She pouted at her creation. "This isn't very good…"

"Bull," Kanji said immediately, grabbing the little thing. He ran his finger over the stiches. "See how they're getting more uniform as I go down? Means you were improving. I've seen a lot of first efforts, and this is a good one man."

His generous assessment really cheered her up. "Only because of your tutoring." She looked longingly at his purple square, perfectly produced and proportioned. "You're really talented you know. Did you learn from other people?"

"Only Ma," he said, grabbing more yarn from the pile. "As I said, people didn't take to me doing this as much as I took to doin' it, you get me?"

"Surely there was a club you could have joined to discuss it though," she said, "people who wouldn't judge you and understand your craft? Even outside of school."

"I, um…" His ears flared a fierce red. "Dammit, I was too chicken to join, alright?!" It was a constant sticking point for him. It would have been to perfect 'up yours' to anyone who'd given him grief about his craft, to be turning up to where he didn't belong for a thousand reasons and absolutely kill it, but it was still hard to work up the courage to walk through the doors. Impossible, as it turned out.

Knowing she'd hit a nerve, and feeling his temper, Fuuka moved to a softer approach. "Well, I think you have one now, if that counts for anything."

It felt completely lame, but the idea was a source of comfort. "A club can't be two people," he countered half-heartedly.

_The technology club was only ever supposed to be two people, _the girl thought sombrely. "Of course it can," she smiled, "We just have to keep attending!"

"Well if you're bein' serious…" Kanji tossed her a couple balls of the yarn. "We'll reconvene in a few days. I want some stiches from these, ya hear?"

"Yes sir!" She took the material enthusiastically, and got up from her seat. "Thank you for your tutelage," she bowed clumsily.

"Eh, it's nothin'," he replied, "Ask me if you have any questions or you forget anythin', alright?"

"I will," she promised, going to the door. "Goodnight, Kanji-san."

"It's kun!" He protested as she left the room. "Night," he added uselessly, before turning to the great stack of yarn on his left. _Now, what's Labrys' colour, _he tried to decide…

* * *

**_AN- _**_Uh, hey guys, been a while. Just found it hard to get stuff down the last month or so. Dunno if that's what writers block is, or if I just felt this chapter was just filler, which it is I guess, but I think filler is needed just so things aren't rushed. I'm telling a story here, not plot points, right?_

_Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews as usual, gotta love that feedback. No promises on the timing of the next chapter, but it's an important one, so hopefully I'll be revved up to get it to you soon. See you then! **-WN** _


	11. Next Chance to Move On

"So…" The maid started lamely. "You wanna tell me what happened?" Chie had been avoiding her all day, and it was only by barging into the security guards room after the end of her shift that Labrys was able to get anything out of her.

The girl was curled at the top of her bed with Labrys beside her, clad in her green bomber jacket in a worrying show of regression. "I'm sorry," she managed quietly, "Talking about things yesterday brought it all back…"

Labrys, against all better judgement, rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon already," she said dramatically, "Look. You are one tough broad, I don't get how the hell this guy could've done you caused ya so much grief. You are way better than that and you know it." She had been planning to save the upbeat reassurance until after her friend's tale was told, but she'd always had a tendency to skip ahead a few pages.

Chie's sad smile to her said told her she knew what she was trying to do, but it really wasn't working. "You don't get it," she exhaled, shaking her head, "If it was just about one guy, no matter how much I loved them, it would be okay, but-"

"But nuthin'!" Labrys cut in. "This friend of yours? She wasn't a friend at all, the lousy skank…"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, laughing softly. "I have a feeling you've already guessed the ending."

"No offense, but this is all a bit cliché. I've seen enough trash to know when a girls getting' down on herself." She laid her arm across her friend's shoulders, pulling her in tightly. "It's cool here, alright? He ain't gonna hurt you no more."

Once again, Chie appreciated the gesture, but gently shuffled out of the grip, and sat opposite and maid. "You're right," she admitted, "That was a big part of it. My best friend she…" she gripped her covers tightly. "But that wasn't just it. There was the scale and then everyone and-" She stopped suddenly, eyes squeezed shut and nostrils flaring, before returning to something calmer. "So here it is. The whole story…"

_Yu had been gone for a few months now. Chie wasn't finding the separation nearly as difficult as she thought she would. Sure, sometimes he could feel distant in his texts, but he was the serious type, some of the time at least. Her nights could be lonely too, but she still had all her friends in town at every other time of the day, and the occasional sleepover at Yukiko's still had the same thrill it had when they were kids, with the added bonus of the other two girls occasionally joining in._

_But it was golden week now. He was coming back, for an entire week! It would be just like the winter again, when the murders were over, except this time the weather would be perfect for doing, well, anything. Although, if she was being honest with herself, she knew there was one thing she __**really **__wanted to be doing that week…_

_She'd discussed a battle plan with Yukiko of course. It was always a difficult topic with her, she could feel the jealousy with every noncommittal answer and forced smile, but she always reassured her friend that she would find the right guy too, the perfect guy, just like she deserved. What Chie had taken from the discussion was to purchase some new underwear, done, and make sure there would be a day where her house was completely empty, difficult, but also done. Soon we would be picking the fruits of her labours, and how sweet they would be tasting..._

_He rolled into Inaba much as he arrived, with little fanfare. Following the Dojima's silly little surprise idea wasn't really her cup of tea, she just wanted to see him, but she could never say no to Nanako on anything. When she saw him at the food court she just wanted to tackle him, but they agreed to always be subtle about their relationship- she hated lovey-dovey couples._

_So the team was back together, filling Yu in on the various happenings round town, while he had whole truckload of anecdotes from his short time back in the city. They found themselves at the Dojima residence, still laughing, chatting, and eating food that somehow wasn't poisonous, all glad that things could still be how they used to be. At some point, the TV came on, and even Chie found herself singing along to the Junes commercial. This segued into the news, where their friend Marie had finally managed to find a place for herself as the weathergirl. And then-_

_"I'm doing just fine. Love you Yu!"_

_Everyone's eye's widened. Who declares their love on their own show, and who would be-_

_Their heads snapped to Yu. While his usual composure lay about ten degrees below absolute zero, his face was growing red, which would be understandable; it's not every day one of your totally platonic friends would make a declaration of on national TV._

_Understandable if every girl at the table wasn't seething like Chie was seething._

_Of course Nanako was here, oblivious to everything along with her father, who was cracking some sort of bad joke. Chie wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but things didn't feel right at all. The atmosphere had sank like a stone, and what followed was twenty minutes of awkward small talk, with even Teddie acting much quieter than usual. Then Yu suddenly announced he was going for a walk with his family, practically shoving the Dojimas out of the door, leaving the seven current residents of the town alone in someone else's house, and for the girls present, with fire in their eyes._

_"What about that Marie, huh…" Yosuke laughed nervously. The daggers the girls threw him sent him cowering for cover. "Someone had to say it!"_

_Teddie sighed. "Jealousy is such a terrible thing ladies, especially when there's a Teddie ripe for the taking!"_

_Rise took control of the situation. "Shut. Up." She growled, proceeding to eye each of the ladies in turn. "Look. I'm going to put it all on the table here. I've been dating Yu for around five months now. What about you guys?"_

_It had been obvious from the moment that slut of a weathergirl graced the screen, but the reality of was a punch in the gut. Chie felt a seething rage at first, how dare she take her boyfriend from her! "Four months and twelve days," Naoto said tersely, her vison boring a hole into the dining table._

_Chie figured she had to finish the confession. "Nine months maybe?" She said listlessly, staring at her lap. "I'm not sure, so he really-"_

_"Hold up." The idol said firmly. Chie looked up to see both her and Naoto casting Yukiko a dark gaze. She wasn't sure why, I mean, Yukiko never even liked Yu, and she was the only person she had explicitly revealed to that she was in a relationship with him. She would never have- "Naoto and I already got suspicious. He took some trips to the inn before he left, right? All alone…"_

_"Do you have any reasonable excuses for this senpai?" Naoto asked curtly._

_"No!" Chie exclaimed, slapping a palm onto the table. Her eyes were becoming wet, her voice far too screechy, and the room far too small, but she was always going to defend her best friend. "She didn't want Yu from the first day, and she would never, and he would never, not with her, and-"_

_Naoto gently took her wrist, silencing her. "Senpai, look." _

_The tears dripping from the eyes of her oldest and closest friend told her more than she ever wanted to know. "Eight months…" She choked out, doubling over into sobs, hands covering her eyes._

_Things fell into place. Why Yu insisted on keeping things quiet. Why it was so difficult to set plans with him. Why Yukiko always stiffened when she asked her for advice. Which meant unlike the other girls, she knew what he was doing, even a little… "You knew." Chie murmured, shaking. "You knew about us, you knew." Pulling away from Naoto easily, she stood over her bawling friend and unleashed a torrent of rage. "You knew. I spent so much time telling you everything and you were both laughing behind my back? YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND YUKIKO! __**YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND AND YOU-" **__Now she was crying, taking in big gulps of air, making it impossible to keep her volume. "I loved him," she whispered. "I loved you. Why? WHY?! __**WHY?!**__" _

_The moment she tried placing her hands on her shoulders, she was being dragged out of the front door, Yosuke straining muscles he didn't even knew he had to keep the raging dragon from doing anything too rash. Chie was still screaming, intelligibly now, bored housewives all craning their necks to get a good look at Inaba's next great news story. Her throat grew hoarse after a few hundred metres, and she crumpled to the ground, taking her friend with her. She whimpered quietly into the pavement, pushing Yosuke's comforting skills to the limit._

_"It's alright," he tried unconvincingly. "Let it all out." He hoped his voice had a soothing quality, but knowing his luck he was making her more upset._

_She looked to him helplessly. "D-Did…" she sniffed. "Did you know?"_

_He shook his head. "No. He always acted coy about that kind of thing, no matter how much I asked …"_

_'There's one less person betraying me then', she thought sardonically.. "What did I do wrong?" She hopelessly moaned. "What did I do to her? Why did she do this…" She buried her head in Yosukes shoulder, racking great sobs through his jacket . "Why did he do this…"_

_He never even stood trial. Apparently there had been an 'emergency' at home, and he had to leave a tearful Nanako by the riverbed as he took took fasted train out of town, not bothering to take back his suitcase. Even to the guys, who you could argue he had no quarrel with, he never said goodbye._

_It all began to unravel in the months that followed. Through the right combination of following gossip and asking the right questions, and with Naoto's considerable organisation skills, a list had been compiled of who exactly their beloved leader had tangled in his elaborate web. The short answer, a lot._

_Ai Ebihara, Yumi Ozawa, Ayumi Matsunaga, even a single mother from his day care job and the nurse from his hospital shifts. Details weren't exactly forthcoming, but they had all definitely been romanced by their shared sliverette casonova. Naturally, Ebihara took this as well as she did Kou's crush on Chie, opening a fiery confrontation the day golden week ended. The bratty blond ended needing a nose operation, if only for cosmetics, and Chie with a week's exclusion. It wasn't much of an issue for her forever, the days kept melding and melding into one another._

_She was fine with everyone really, even Ebihara. She could always see how good Yu was at hiding his emotions, so even with a network as elaborate as he had, she knew it was perfectly possible for no one to know what was happening. That's what she told herself. She definitely didn't think of how Naoto, the accomplished detective, couldn't have possibly missed the signs, yet went along with her relationship anyway. Or how Rise, so bubbly and flirty even in a group, had actually been laughing at them all the whole time._

_Yukiko was the problem. Oh no, Yu was the problem! That's it, he seduced her, so she couldn't resist, he put his spell on her and she was so sheltered, so innocent she didn't have another choice, and she was really sorry, and, and… _

_It became a harder justification with every day they spent apart. It would have been easier if it was only Yu, just the one person she could hate with passion crashing through her heart, but now her soul had to add to the rage all against her best friend. She had known about her and Yum when the start. She told her every last detail about the physical, the emotional, and the smaller stuff besides. Yet she forced a smile and acted all supportive, all the while fucking her boyfriend behind her back. Not boyfriend, lover. The man she loved. The man she still loved, intertwined with the man she hated, the man absconding across town to find apparently anyone to get close to._

_She exchanged her seat in class with the greasiest of Yukiko's suitors, opting to take a place in the front corner of the room, where she didn't have to see the flash of red below a jet of black. She did something she never did, knuckling down to take notes, and made sure to be the first one out of the class. It was her final year- she was going to get into the police academy, and get the hell out of this town, that was it. Her lunches became strange without her usual dining partner, spending more time roaming the halls finding someone to settle with, some days never stopping at all._

_Rise made a show of her smiles, more than she had seen at any of her concerts. She made the remaining team all come to Junes at least once a week. Mostly sans-Yukiko, but Chie knew she was slotted in whenever the martial artist declined her invitation. The gatherings were strange, the absence of their leader more pronounced than it was during his initial departure. Everyone tried to talk, about their day, about the futures they wanted, yet, without the murders to discuss, or their Yu's constant interference that caused them to grow, they all stagnated. The idol kept pushing._

_"You should talk to her," she said, in a manner designed to look off hand but was clearly forced. Chie kept chewing on her skewer, knowing now Souzai Daigaku was just a convenient trap. "She feels really bad… You guys have so much history that's not worth throwing away."_

_She gulped down her mouthful, and spoke coldly. "She already did that."_

_Rise scrunched up her eyes and shook her head. "No! Senpai, you are __**so**__ much better than letting a guy ruin everything you have. We're all friends, we shouldn't…" She trailed off, trying to blink away the glistening in her eyes._

_"He didn't ruin everything," she replied bluntly, "She did."_

_The brunette stared at her fiercely, sniffing while her lips shrank. "Did we?"_

_Chie's stayed silent as she finished her meal. At some point Rise walked away without a word. She left soon after that, picking up where her career left off. So did Naoto, still coming back to Inaba periodically to finish her education as she had promised her grandfather, but she seemed to have a knack for picking the cases that kept her away for the longest of time. _

_It had become easier to hang out with the guys those last few months, and when the girls were gone, necessary. They weren't involved at all, so there was nothing extra she had to think about. Mostly. As much as she hated to admit it, the truth had begun to eat at her. Her moments alone were filled with red, and pain, and thinking, so much thinking, about where she went wrong, what she could have done better so he didn't need to find anyone else. A part of her knew that was pointless thinking, or downright incorrect, but her insecure side that Yu had once subdued was back with a vengeance. Her parents knew something were wrong, and her mother kept prying, but she was as elusive as she had been about the relationship in its duration and aftermath._

_Things kept rolling. Summer passed her by, as did the autumn, and soon she was in the heart of winter. She still smiled, when she felt like it, there were still good days after all, when everything never happened, when her friends kept her spirits up, when her mind wasn't cast to other things. On Christmas day, she got a phone call._

_The top of the hill was always a nice spot. Chie thought it was a shame she'd have to wait a few more weeks to see the town blanketed in snow. Yosuke sat on the bench beside her, in a winter hat so incredibly dorky. "So, whaddya get for Christmas? The new phone got is killer," he demonstrated, by showing the large thing in front of her, in its garish orange case._

_"Nothing much," she answered, "new running shoes, a couple of movies I've been after…"_

_Yosuke cast a glance over the scenery and sighed loudly. "Man, it's weird, a few months and we'll be done at Yasogami. Bet it's weirder for you, country bumpkin that you are."_

_"Hey!" She objected, "You are as much one as I am at this point."_

_He gave her an incredulous look, full of the special Hanamura brand of cheek. "What? No, come on, you've lived here for like, nine times longer than I have at this point, it's not comparable."_

_Chie smirked. "Of course you are, for one good reason."_

_"What?"_

_"You don't want to leave…" She stared into space for some fleeting moments, before a hand was placed on her arm._

_"You know we're all here for you, right?" Her friend did his best to flash a smile. "We know they both made mistakes, but-"_

_She frowned viciously. "Made mistakes?"_

_"Maybe more than that," Yosuke said quickly, "But that's beside the point. You have to move on man. I know that's easy to say, but c'mon, they aren't worth the trouble. Who knows, maybe at some point you'll talk and-"_

_"Move on?" She asks quietly. "I think about the two of them. Together. Every day. I think about how we were together. Every. Day. I think about how he was with every fucking girl in town. Every. Goddamn. Day," she snarled. "I can't just 'move on'."_

_Yosuke usually had a certain intuition for when he misstepped his mark, but he was about to go two for two. "Listen, you can't hold on to what you had. I did and we know how annoying that made me. You have to look, see what's right in front of you…" The feeling of his hand on hers made her jump to his feet. _

_"What was that?!" She asked, shaking kindly._

_His immediate response was to backpedal. "Sorry! I was trying to show- Crap, what I mean to say is…" He crumpled, literally deflating. "Sheesh, I told him this wouldn't work…"_

_"Who's 'him'?" Her eye's widened when he shrank in his bench. "Don't tell me you've been-"_

_"He's important to me alright!" He said, loudly enough to make Chie quiet, and to feel bad about it. "He made me realise what a dumbass I was people, taught me to change, told me I was worth something. He did that everyone, he did that for you!" "He screwed up, but isn't there at least a bit of you that can appreciate that?" _

_'Yes,' she thought, 'and that's the part I hate about myself the most.' "So what," she sniffed, "I should go forgive him, forgive Yukiko, date you instead and everything will be all sunshine and rainbows?"_

_"I didn't say that I just- Gahh," He fumed, frustrated. "I've liked you since last year. But he was in the way, I could just tell, and he was my best friend, I couldn't. You think I wanted this too?" He said harshly, "You think I wanted his sloppy-"_

_He managed to stop himself before he carried on any further, but the message had been received. Her farewell was low, and cold. "Piss off __**Junes**__."_

_After that, her only point of contact was Kanji, and Teddie, on the few days he wasn't with Yosuke, and she could take his boundless energy with good humour. She graduated with little fuss, and entered the academy, the change of scene doing nothing for her when she still had to go home every night, to memories, to hate, to losing all of her loves…_

"So there it is," the security guard finished, face in a pillow, "The reason I ran away, the reason I've been such a miserable cow for the last couple years. Dumb, huh?"

"Well… Yeah?" The glare Labrys earned from the comment told her she had a lot to learn about rhetorical questions. "I mean, sure, it's horrible an' stuff," she clarified quickly, "And actually kinda impressive in its own way," she muttered aside, "But life ruining? I mean, the skank and the douche, yeah, you should hate the two of 'em, and that Yosuke guy sounds like he's got the tact of a cockroach. But ya other friends, Naoto and Rise, right? They didn't do anything wrong, and you still pushed 'em away!" Her lack of sugar coating was not winning her any favour with Chie, and she threw an arm over her shoulder in a vain attempt to show she was on her side. "I'm not blamin' you or nothin', it's just I know you're better than that."

"But I'm not," she said softly. "Before Yu, I was self-absorbed, insanely jealous, and I only thought able helping people rather than actually doing it. He made me better. He made us all better. If we hadn't fought our shadows, I wouldn't know where we'd all be…"

"Maybe you're right," she shrugged, "Maybe you ain't. Ya can't change the past, but its stationary, y'know, you can get away from it."

"Which I did…" _To the tune of a thousand miles…_ Her mind began to race. _He put me in a position that I felt I had to run away from my home to feel sane, _she realised. _He washed his hands of it, he wasn't even there but he made it so I had to deal with it. Yukiko lost herself in work, but I didn't have that focus. I ran like a coward, I ran, and I know that's not good enough. _The girl got to her feet, and dashed to the door. "I… I have to go…"

There was a twitch in her friend's stature that worried the hell out of Labrys. "Wait!" She tried, following her friend. "Just stay here, we can talk more, watch a crappy movie-" Her voice had been rising, which died in an instant when she entered the corridor and Chie was nowhere to be seen. She would've given chase, if a figure didn't appear in front of her.

"Ya alright?" Kanji asked, looking up and down the hallway, squinting. "Heard some voices, an' someone running, I think?"

"Oh god," the girl moaned, before pointing an accusatory finger at him. "What the hell were you doing?!"

Confused for a second, he looked down to his hands, and a familiar brush of annoyance. "Ya mean these?" He spat, holding up the needles and wool. "So what, I'm a dude and this is weird? You can-"

Labrys slapped her eyes with her palm, slowly scraping it down her face. "Not what I meant Kanji-kun. It's cool you can do all that stuff; I ain't got a problem."

He brought down his fist very sheepishly. "Oh, um, sorry." He threw his equipment unceremoniously back inside his room. "What's actually happening?"

Labrys lifted her finger once again and resumed where she had left off. "I was asking what the hell you were doing!" He looked back into his room at the pile of room, and Labrys let out an exasperated sigh. "No, dummy, I mean these last couple years."

He was still slow on the uptake. "Whaddya mean?"

"I'm talkin' about Chie," she cleared up, "How did you leave her still so messed up about what Yu did to her? Surely you could've done something…"

"Oh, that." He exhaled tiredly, and finally let his door close. "I tried man. Hung out when we could, tried talkin', but she didn't wanna, 'specially after Yosuke-senpai screwed up... She really closed herself off."

The maid was understandably sceptical. "I dunno, maybe you weren't trying hard enough, she was spilling to me pretty quickly."

The accusation in her voice was only in his head, but it raised his heckles nonetheless. "Hey! This place is different. Inaba…" He sighed, and leant back onto the door behind him. "Inaba was like a whole different town after everything went down."

Labrys stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Keep talkin'."

"Well, it's a small place," he explained. "I wasn't even involved and I was hearin' the gossip left right an' centre. You gotta understand that in the group, like, the eight of us, we hadn't really been happy for a long time, 'til we all got together that is. Senpai was why we were together."

His friend snorted, resting her back on the wall opposite. "Dude sounds like a real snake in the grass…"

"It ain't that simple. You've probably heard only the bad stuff, he isn't like that…" He saw the glare aimed right in his pupils, and raised a limp defence. "You don't get it man. The guy was a saint. I'd probably be locked up somewhere by now if he never stepped in, or never graduated at least…"

"Well he _clearly_ wasn't," she sniffed haughtily, "or else he wouldn't have been cheating on all of his girlfriends."

"That's what was weird," Kanji agreed. "I never figured he was capable of being a dick, like, not even a little. Dude could be a little weird at times, but he was the best out of everyone." He smoothed his hair back, thinking back to when things were simple, when everyone could be his friend. "I always thought it was weird on TV, y'know, where the bad guy turns good for an episode? It never made sense to me, didn't think people could be like that. Then my best friend turns out to be an even weirder shade of grey than that."

Labrys' eyebrows, which practically spelled incredulous, told him she wasn't buying it. "So since he wasn't a scumbag most of the time he gets a free pass?"

"Course he didn't," he protested, "We… No-one wanted to talk about it, I mean, I know I'm bad at talkin' when things get real, so I never brought it up. Yosuke and Teddie pretty much lost their best bro, and the girls were all embarrassed as hell. Guess we all thought we'd let it lie and try to move on."

The maid was still in disbelief that their group let the fallout steamroll them so easily "Embarrassed? They should have been angry. If a guy ever did that to me and my friends…" She drew a finger across her neck.

"Again, ain't that simple. Ya saw me waxin' on about the dude, they'd do the same, even now, I know it. Plus, um," he coughed, lowering his voice, "Pretty sure them all having their first time with the same dude isn't summit they ever wanna think about."

"Ugh," Labrys blanched, sticking out her tongue, "that would be weird…" Noticing her friend had lost his focus slightly, she said something she perhaps shouldn't. "Is it something you don't want to think about?"

"What!? No!" He denied, far too quickly. He grunted, rubbed an eye, and spoke apologetically. "Sorry. Gotta get better at that…" He was still bad at talking about his feelings, past present or future, but even he could tell that, with this new friend in Labrys, he had another, safe outlet for them. "A little."

An extra vertex in this twisted geometry of love triangles defeated her sense of tact and brought victory to her sense of curiosity. "Wow, you guys couldn't keep it simple…" Her expression dropped to one of a sickening horror. "It wasn't Chie, was it?"

He recoiled, equally as appalled by the notion. "Jeez man, no! I mean, sure, she's like my best friend now," he continued, as Labrys heaved a huge sigh of relief, "but she never keeps things clean, and she's far too into those dumb films and- no, it wasn't her."

"Oh thank god…" A thought crossed her mind, and she attempted to convey it as delicately at possible. "It wasn't maybe- which would be totally okay by the way- him?"

He knew was she was getting at, and was mildly surprised at how easily honesty came tumbling from his lips. "Nah. Honestly, there were times I thought I might…" he trailed off, before shaking his head. "That's not it. I've had my, uh, doubts, about that kind of stuff, and like, I can see why everyone else was going for him…" He let his imagination run perhaps a little too wild, and winced. "Crap. Maybe I'm not as sorted on that stuff as I thought. Whatever," he decided, before Labrys could leap in with some encouragement, "I like who I like, that's the bottom line. But it's not that ass."

Labrys knew at some point they had to find Chie, but she was the type of person who wanted to be there for all of her friends, and right now that was Kanji. "Then who?" She asked gently.

"Naoto…" He revealed, with the usual sigh. "I don't know what you know about her, but she's smart and cute and small and brave and… Pretty much everything I'm not."

She considered his words thoughtfully. _Man, I can see by the dope's eyes he's in deep with this girl, _the maid thought sadly. "You got a picture of her?" Rummaging his pockets, he flipped open his phone, found one in meagre collection, and tossed it to his friend. "Yeah," she said approvingly, "She's cute. Guessing it knocked you for six when you heard her and Yu…"

"It… Wasn't great." He caught his phone on the return throw, and slid it back into his trousers. "I know it shouldn't mean anythin', but now I know if I actually tried anythin' with her it'd mean measuring up to senpai and…"

Labrys rolled her eyes. "Considerin' you'd be doing better than him by simply **not** cheating, I don't think that'd be hard." Her blunt reply earned a small smile, but the distance in his posture worried her. "How long have you liked her?"

It was troubling how quickly the answer came. "Three years thereabouts." He drummed his fingers on his right temple. "There's just never been the right time to say it, she goes away a lot, and I don't want to lose her by sayin' somethin' dumb…"

"Kanji-kun," the maid soothed, walking across the hallway to rest a hand on his shoulder, "If books, comics, and movies have taught me anything about romance, it's that these things need to be dealt with, hell, by a phone call if you have to. Having feelings like that festering? It ain't healthy, lets it grow into something you can't get a handle on." She looked down the hallway. "Much like hate I guess…" She tugged on the blonde's shirt. "C'mon, we gotta get to Chie."

Kanji remained planted to his spot, though Labrys' grip was surprisingly strong. "Do we? I dunno man, if she's pissed maybe we should leave her-"

The girl narrowed her eyes, and pulled towards him. "Apparently she's been alone for the last two years." She smiled sweetly. "As her friends, we're not gonna let that happen again, right?"

The tailor's guilt in that moment was crushing. He knew Chie had been hurting, for far too long, and what had he been doing? He'd been there for her sure, but that's the bare minimum you can do, he should have been working at her barriers, doing something to dispel the fog that had been building up underneath the surface all over again. He'd been hurting too, but that was no excuse. "Shit," he gasped. "Yer right. Fuck, I've been a real-"

"Yeah, an' I love you too," his friend swatted away lightly, coaxing him away from the wall. "Quit stressin', I ain't blamin' you for nothin'." They began walking down corridor, following Chie's path, though realised it might be more difficult than they thought when they were greeted by one of the mansions many huge halls. "Any idea where she'd be?" Labrys asked hopefully.

Kanji mulled over her question. "Ummm…" Looking out of the window, he snapped his fingers. "The beach." His friend tilted her head, and he guessed an explanation was required. "Uh, the one we had at home was a bit of a journey, but she liked it. Seems like a place to go brood a while."

Labrys slapped a hand onto her forehead. "Duh. Forgot mansion-with-a-beach is a rare thing to most people. Let's go!"

Stepping out into the gardens, the orange of the sky reminded Kanji his sense of time had been really skewed since he'd arrived on the island. Going over the grass and paths, Kanji thought to how strange it must be, to have all your memories confined to such a surreal place. "You got anyplace to get thinkin' done round here?"

Labrys thought for a few moments. "Wherever really, I ain't much of a thinker-" She raised her finger, "_no_ comments please. Anyway, whenever I end up in that kinda mood it's always about somethin' different. Who I was before I forgot everything, who my parents were, when I should get off this island, what I should do with my life, yadda yadda, boring teen angst. That means I gotta find all sort of thinking spots for all of them!"

"…Do you?" Kanji was impressed at how breezily she could gloss over the subject of her amnesia, but it only made him worry about the odd girl. "Sounds like a lot of effort."

"It's worth it, means I've got all these spots of my own. The rock down the beach, the third tree in the garden, underneath the end bench in Fuuka's lab, the comfy chair in Mitsuru's office…" She sighed happily. "The greatest naps of my young life I tell ya!"

_Sheesh, how has she not been fired? _As they crossed the threshold of the mansion, breaking into the treeline separating the inland from the beach, the green of the foliage brought Kanji's mind back to only one person. "What are we gonna say to her?"

"I dunno." Was his friend's honest reply. "I mean, tell her how great she is, but I'm not sure how well that's gonna work. Even with all awful crap he did, she still had a little gush in her voice when she talked about him." She tapped the side of her skull. "Dude's really weaselled himself into her brain. Guess that makes sense though, it sounded like an intense year, murderer on the loose, facing you're 'shadows' or whatever she was on about…" She sighed, not noticing her friend seizing up. "He was really somethin' alright…"

Kanji's skin had paled, as it always did at the s-word. "Shit, she told ya about that?"

The maid frowned. "Of course she did. Said all about Yu Naru-slutty helping her take on the worst part of herself, an' it sounds like he did the same to you too. Hey, what's it like, having to face that bad side?"

His mind flipped and flopped inside his skull. It wasn't exactly a hard and fast rule the team had made, more of an unspoken agreement that they were the sole keepers of the knowledge of what really happened in Inaba that year. Was Chie right to break that promise? "Tricky, friggin' painful actually. I mean, seein' the shit get kicked out of it makes it easier but- actually, nah, it's still hard. It was all about being able to accept it, but then at least you get your persona; man, mine was kickass, busted heads and threw lightning around like nobody's business. Miss the guy actually…"

"Kanji-kun…" Labrys started, with a nervous tremor in her voice that made Kanji's features twist and redden, "We're still talkin' in metaphors, right?"

"Ack- Um- Urk-" Kanji was strangling, deep in his throat, while his friend looked up to him with real concern. _Dumbass __**dumbass**__**DUMBASS! **_He was starting to believe his wasn't the idiot he told himself he was, and just like that, he let the biggest cat out of the most secure bag he owned. He struggled to find a way to spin it, it really was a metaphor, I like to get detailed with my emotional battles, when their feet found sand, and the hunched figure by the sea made for the perfect way to buy time. "Ohlookthere'sChie."

She wasn't sure how long she's been there. She wasn't even sure what she'd been thinking about, and her memory was usually pretty solid. She just heard the waves, and hunched her knees closer to her chest tighter and tighter when the vague concepts swirling around her mind started to form into something dark and familiar. In fact, she was startled when she looked to her right and saw Kanji sitting beside her, elbow rested on one knee. "Kanji?" She sniffed. "Why're you here?"

He angled his head to her other side, and spoke softly. "She told me what was up."

She slowly turned her head, and was greeted with Labrys' gentle smile. "Hey," the maid greeted.

"Hey." Chie went back to quiet, looking back to the ocean, eyes fixed on the horizon. That's how things stayed for a while, with her brain punishing her less and less, until she began to contemplate how strange a position it was to be in, with her two friends behind her, all saying nothing. "I'm sorry," she apologised, looking between the pair in turn, "I must've really worried you both."

Kanji nodded. "That's true."

"Ain't your fault," Labrys chimed in. "Uh, I meant just that, but actually, all of it isn't your fault."

"I know." The brunette laughed. "God, I'm so pathetic…"

"Eh, we all are." Labrys' comment earned the attention of both her co-workers. "What? You're a girl who can't get past a guy treatin' you like shit, you're a guy who can't get over a girl you never even confessed to, and I'm just a chick who can't remember her tenth birthday."

Chie arched her eyebrow, while Kanji squinted slightly. "You know," the girl said, "That doesn't make you pathetic, it's not your fault. It's still more of a problem than our high school drama is!"

"It ain't really. I like the lack of baggage!" She snorted. "Honestly, meetin' the two of you has made amnesia seem simple!" It wasn't much, but it got a chuckle out her two friends. The maid got to her feet, and got in a position over them. "I meant what I was saying earlier, to both of you. You aren't pathetic, you're cool people! Sure, you could've both handled things better, but you're human. We're all human. Even Mitsuru's human. Narukami might be a demon but that's beside the point." The pair on the floor stifled their smirks, and a smiling Labrys held out her arms to the both of them. "What the point actually is, it's that you're here now. This place is pretty nice, and ya got a whole year here. You got time to work things out." They took the offered grip, and she easily pulled them off the floor. "I'm here for you guys if you got any bitching to do, but I ain't letting you slip!" she declared. "When you get off this rock, you're both gonna be happy, well-adjusted people, alright? Because that's what you both deserve."

The pair from Inaba didn't know what to say. Their eyes were shimmering, one much more noticeably than the others', but they equally pulled their mutual friend into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around the two of them, graciously receiving the pair's "Thank you."

When they stepped away, Chie's smile made Labrys possibly happier than she could ever remember. "You know, I only wish we could help you Labby-chan," Kanji said. "You know, with your memory and stuff."

Chie held out her palm. "Wait wait wait, _Labby-chan_?"

The tailor made a face. "It was somethin' Fuuka came up with, I ain't so hot on it."

"Labby-chan," Chie cooed, "I like it!"

The maid rolled her eyes in playful fashion. "Y'all can call me whatever you want. Though Kanji," she said firmly, "Labby-chan is off limits for you."

"Works for me," he nodded, with a grin for good measure.

"Actually," Labrys mused, "there is one thing you guys can help me with…"

The martial artist looked up eagerly. "Anything, how can we help?"

"Well," she started her request, "I feel like you're both holding back on me. At first it was just a feelin' I had, but looking into the details of those murders in Inaba, a lot of stuff didn't add up…" She found the worry in her friend's eyes slightly accusatory. "Can ya blame a girl be being curious, this is juicy stuff! Anyway, the big lug let somethin' slip earlier-" Kanji gulped, "-An, I gotta ask," She penetrated them with an innocent gaze, "What the hell is a persona?"

All of a sudden, Labrys looked out to the ocean. She felt… Strange. Not that she felt weird, she felt normal, but it was a new sense of normal. Something unfamiliar. A voice brought a sudden clarity. "Labrys?"

"Persona…" she whispered, while her minded began to sketch a picture. _The word, the way it sounds. Not just that, the way he said it. Like it has a whole other meaning… _A silhouette, a giant filled her mind's eye, something that made no sense but held more significance than anything. _Not someone's persona… Having a persona. A persona._ _It_ _just seems more correct. _She started to register the world again, the two people in front of her, with eyes wide, and mouth slightly open. "I've never felt like this before..."

The shift in behaviour was unexpected, more so than her bringing up the forbidden topic in the first place. They had both been silently hoping they could bat off her prying, but a feeling stirred between the two persona-users, something laid to rest since the dissolution of the investigation team. "Like what?" Chie eventually ventured.

She looked between the two of them, and for the first time she could think of, felt that particular mixture of fear and excitement, discovery. "For the first time I'm…" She scratched her head. "I'm remembering something."

* * *

**_AN- _**_Another chapter, hope you like intrigue! Yup, there's legitimate plot now, and it's gonna get driven. Let's get back into what makes persona persona, shall we? Tell me what you think so far, I kinda look at this as 'ACT 1: COMPLETE!' from what my plan was at first anyway. I'll see you for the next round. **-WN**_


	12. Dropping By

Kanji and Chie's jaws hung low, the implications of their friend's statement sinking in. "You remember?" The brunette ventured. "Remember what?"

"It's not definite," Labrys replied somewhat listlessly, casting her gaze over the ocean. "It's more like a feeling, like, it's just there, y'know?"

Chie still wasn't particularly convinced. "That's not really a memory…"

"'Scuse the amnesiac for not knowing how long term memory works!" The maid hotly replied with a frown.

"Labrys, we ain't sayin' your crazy," Kanji soothed, "But what you're sayin' is literally impossible."

"Persona," she repeated, "A giant monster/demon thing you summon to do your bidding? Usually hitting stuff?" She raised an eyebrow into an arc. "That's mostly right, isn't it?"

Her companion's incredulous mouths, more agape than ever, told her the answer. They turned to each other. "How the hell…" Chie muttered.

"But no one else-" Her partner started.

"But nothing!" Labrys cut in loudly. "This can't be coincidence! I meet you two, an' ya talk about this persona business that makes no sense, but I still understand what you're on about?" Her eyes hardened. "You guys need to tell me what you know."

They knew what she was saying was perfectly true, but were still quite apprehensive about actually revealing the truth about that year in Inaba for the first time. Kanji looked for some approval. "Do we…?"

Labrys' expression, serious for the first time she'd ever seen, gave Chie her answer. "I guess. Um," she pinched her bottom lip, "Where do we start?"

"The murders I guess..." Kanji replied. "Alright, so, once upon a time-"

Chie hit his shoulder. "This isn't some kind of fairy tale! Basically, just after school started, an announcer from the news died in our town. She was found hanging off of a TV antenna."

Labrys nodded, but slowly. "That's creepy… Not sure what it has to do with this persona stuff though."

"We're getting there," Chie grunted. She started walking to the path that led back to the mansion.

"Hey," Labrys called, "Is that it?!"

The brunette stopped, and beckoned her forward. "C'mon. We gotta go back so we can prove it."

"Prove what?"

A nudge from Kanji got her moving, while he began to explain. "So there was a rumour going round school yeah, about something called the midnight channel."

"If you stared at a TV screen on at midnight when it was raining, even if it wasn't plugged in, it was supposed to show you your true love." It was odd, looking back, how innocently it all started.

Labrys snorted. "Man, I wish I remembered high school," she giggled, "The stuff you kids came up with sounds like gold!"

"Of course, that turned out to be a load of bull," Kanji agreed.

"Yeah," Chie shrugged in nonchalance, "Turned out the channel was actually showing who was gonna be killed next."

The maid's furrowed frown was the only motion in her frozen face. "…You're serious?"

"Mhmm," Chie confirmed. "Anyway, while this was happening, Yu just moved into town." It still didn't feel great to say his name out loud, but she tried to relish in that feeling not stopping her from doing so. "Me, him and that Yosuke guy were messing around in Junes and he…" She went quiet, trying to think of a way of putting it that didn't sound stupid, but failed miserably. "He stuck his hand inside the TV."

Labrys' brow sank further still. "Like he punched it?"

Kanji, hands deep in his pockets, chuckled. "I thought the same thing…"

"No, he didn't punch it." The security guard exhaled. "Okay. So it turns out there's a world inside the TV-"

"_What_." Labrys rubbed her eyes. "Now you're just playing with me. That's just..." She snapped her fingers. "That's it! You played some sort of tape when I weren't awake durin' our sleepover, with subliminal messages and whatnot. Got this 'persona' bullshit in my head so you can play this prank on me. So good job fellas, you had me goin' for a second there..."

Their grave expressions made her laugh grow nervous, and Kanji removed all doubt. "Ya really think Chie could come up with somethin' that devious?" She, rather diplomatically, didn't answer. "Thought not."

"For the record I am slightly offended," she said to her partner, before returning to her story. "So this TV world was a scary place. After a while, we worked out that was because it represented humanities subconscious… Or something…"

Kanji scratched his neck. "Yeah, don't ask us to get too technical on the weird mumbo jumbo; that was never really our thing…"

"Aw man…" Labrys sighed, before wagging her finger dangerously. "Assuming you're not actually playing a trick on me that is!"

Chie glanced at her sideways. "Are you still on that?" She jabbed in the keycode to open the gate to the mansion's garden, and continued their tale. "So, because of the subconscious thingy, if you actually jump in there, things can get a little freaky. You get to face your shadow."

"Shadow," The maid repeated. "I know you mentioned it, but what is it exactly?"

"It means two things," Chie explained, "There are regular shadows. I _think _they were people's bad thoughts, but made into these mean little monsters."

Kanji stepped in. "If they're mean, true shadows are _nasty_."

"Those things were specific to you. When you enter the TV world, every little thing you ever hate or doubt about yourself is made into a really powerful shadow. It talks to you, tells you the truth about how you feel, trying to get you to deny what its saying."

"You do that, an' it gets stronger and stronger. The bad news- people need to beat the ever lovin' crap out of it before its vulnerable enough for you to take in."

"That's what caused the murders," Chie filled in. "Someone threw people into the TV world, and before we were there to stop the true shadows, the shadows became strong enough to swarm and consume the person. Then they were found the day after."

The maid stared at her shoes. "Brr…"

"The good news-," Kanji said, "-if you can actually accept all the crap it's throwing at you, you get your persona, which is like the true shadow I guess, but you control it?"

"I think Naoto called it 'a mask you use to face hardship'." Chie added. "You call on them in the TV world to pull off all sorts of badass moves! We used them to fight the shadows and save everyone who was thrown in the TV, until we caught the killer."

"There was somethin' about a goddess actually being behind it all who was broken into three or some shit. Almost destroyed the world I think?" He looked to Chie for confirmation but she looked just as unsure as he did. "But I really wasn't paying attention during those parts… "

Labrys' pupils dashed between her two friends jerking erratically. "…You're telling me you two mooks are the saviours of the goddamn world?"

"Yeah," Chie said breezily, brushing her hair back, "We should really be getting paid more, there're aren't any other security guards on earth with our credentials!"

"I'm gonna need to see a certificate or something," Labrys muttered. As they crossed the building's threshold, she found herself being led into the meeting room, and her eyes drifted immediately to the black mirror on the wall. "So I guess you're gonna show me?"

"Yup!" With that, the martial artist took a place at the side of the TV, raised a hand dramatically, slowly pushing her hand through the screen. It hadn't been too long since she last tried her party trick- she did it every so often when she was alone just to check that whole year wasn't just a dream- but the feeling, of pushing through something to get to nothing, still held an electric thrill.

Not lost upon Labrys. Slack jawed, she scampered up to the TV to confirm her friend's hand was, in fact, inside. Then she looked around the side of the TV, which was pretty useless since it was attached the wall, and finally, with trepidation, grazed a finger against the rippling screen, hopping back with a squeak when she pushed through the resistance. "Oh my god…" She slowly stepped forward again, and pressed her whole palm through the screen, and stared with awe. "…Cool."

Kanji and Chie both smiled at each other, enjoying their companion's nostalgic sense of wonder. "This help you remember anythin'?" The boy asked hopefully.

Labrys stared at her submerged hand for a few moments before the question registered, and still transfixed, she shook her head. "You mean the TV stuff? Not yet, no…" She turned to the pair, tilting her head towards the screen and nodding towards it. "Maybe if we go inside?" She said mischievously.

Chie suddenly felt uncomfortable, and removed her hand from the screen. "I don't think so Labby-chan, it's way too dangerous."

Labrys slipped her arm out of the screen, and placed her hands on her hips. "Aren't you two supposed to be strong enough to have saved the world? You can watch my back in there."

"It's not that," Kanji said, understanding the girl's eagerness, "We just don't really know our way around there."

"Whaddya mean?"

"It was a couple of our friend's jobs that year during the murders to navigate us around the TV world. It's like a maze, and it's constantly changing."

Chie saw the hurt in their friend's eyes, and tried strengthening her argument. "Plus, we haven't been inside for like, more than two years now. Who knows what it's like there anymore?"

"But…" The maid hung her head. "This was the frist time I ever felt like I was getting somewhere. The shrink they sent me to said there was no way to recover my memory, so I thought here…"

"Didn't you say the TV didn't jog your memory at all?"

"Well yeah, but then you talked about your true shadow and…" She ran a hand through her hair. "I dunno. They tell you the truth, right? I figure if I could talk to her, maybe she knows something I don't. Then I'd have a persona, and that might help as well…" She half smiled. "Worst thing, I'm still an amnesiac, but one with better attitude and supernatural powers!"

Once again, the pair were humbled by their friend's profound optimism, but couldn't entertain following her crazy idea. "I think you might be acting a bit naïve," Chie said gently, "We almost died, far too many times. We have no idea how strong your shadow would be, and we have no one to give us support if things go wrong. We want to help you Labrys," she said encouragingly, rubbing her friend's shoulder, "but we can't like this."

She took Chie's hand, and gripped it tight. "This is all I have," she insisted. "And you can't expect me to not jump in now I know about it!"

Kanji's eyes expanded. "No you can't! It's too dangerous, 'specially if you don't have a persona!"

"You can't stop me…" She said quietly, looking back up at them apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't want to guilt trip you are anything, but the fact is, I've been stuck here for two years. This is my chance to change that, to find out what really happened, to find out who I am. I'm not saying I'd jump in tonight, or tomorrow, but I know at some point I'll just snap, and do something stupid." She took Kanji's hand with her free one. "Please. I need you for this."

They held back their answer for a short while, before Kanji sighed and made his choice. "Alright, we'll do it." While Labrys beamed brightly enough to make star seem dull, Chie shot him a glare that could melt pure steel. "What? We use our Persona's to help people right? Haven't been doing that recently…"

It was completely irresponsible, and most certainly not going to be worth the hassle, but yet… "You're our friend," Chie acquiesced, "And we help our friends." Smiling even wider, and perhaps with a glistening in her eyes, Labrys wrapped her arms around their necks and pulled them tight, the hug lasting as long as it took for Chie to wriggle away. "Okay. First things first, where are we gonna find a navigator?"

Chie had only been shocked once a persona stumbling out from a TV, and that was more from relief that Yu and Yosuke's second excursion into the TV world hadn't gotten them killed. This was stranger; one second she had been forcing a smile for her friend, next, a blue and red blob flew across her eyes, taking Kanji down with them, and with the moment being so instantaneous, it was only a few moments after before she processed what was happening, and stopped the yelling Labrys from throwing a chair at the brightly coloured mass. "Labby-chan, it's okay!"

"The hell it ain't," she cried, "Is this one of those shadow thingys?"

"Yes and no," she admitted, while Kanji found the strength the push his old friend off of him, who had been clinging on for dear life, and asking all sorts of questions.

The creature's look puzzled Labrys. It was kind of like a person yes, but much rounder, with some adorable ears on top. "Um," she said, lowering the chair, "If that's supposed to be a shadow, why is it so… Cute?"

Then the bear blushed, and the maid started to think the title of shadow was a real misnomer. "Oh, my _bear _lady," he cooed, "I'm not like those other nasty shadows, if you'd let me demonstrate-"

The blue haired girl turned back to Chie. "It talks?" She looked back, and was surprised to see the things head had gotten much smaller. No, it wasn't smaller, just entirely different.

"I'm Teddie!" He declared, attempting a bow, but in his suit, only succeeded in once again meeting the floor. "Oh woe is me," he moaned, face down on the marble, "I meet another beautiful maiden and she makes me lose all my grace…"

Kanji unceremoniously knelt down and yanked the collar of his friend's shirt, pulling him standing, before putting an arm around his shoulder. "It's good to see ya man."

"Yeah, but…" Chie trailed off. "Why?"

"Oh Chie-chan, you should know by now that Teddies are all about why-nots in this world!" He brushed his hair across his forehead, and sparkled with a dazzling intensity. "For example, you know this pretty girl and you never introduced us! Why not?"

"Why not indeed," the martial artist muttered, hoping Labrys wasn't the kind of sap to fall for his petty charms.

She wasn't inspiring much confidence. The girl was still trying to take in the blond, which for strange individual, would take a while. "Teddie, right? I'm Labrys," she introduced herself, holding out her hand, which was taken a little too eagerly for her liking. She took a step back. "So, you're a shadow?"

"Uh-huh," he confirmed chirpily. "The first bona-fide human-shadow!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm the first shadow to transcend our bestial instincts and have a real personality! Don't worry," he wriggled his eyebrows, "I'm still an animal in all the ways that count!"

This was a little too far for Kanji's liking, cuffing the shorter boy on the back of his head. "Quit that ya dumb bear!"

"Ow!"

"What he means is," the tailor filled in, "He has a persona, like us. He helped out durin' the murders." His eyes widened. "Actually, he was one of the people we mentioned, who helped us work out how to move around the TV world. Teddie," he turned to him, "Do you wanna help us out here?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, a Teddie always helps out those in need!"

Instinctively, Chie looked to the door. "Let's go to my room, we've got a lot to talk about and I don't want Takenowa walking in on us…"

"Oh my, Chie-chan's room!" the bear said excitedly, "What sort of wonders with we find within- Ow!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Fuuka was once again bored at her desk. Reports on shadow activity were few and far between, and considering their unpredictable nature, it wasn't as if she could be working on technology that would reliably assist in combatting the next threat. Instead, she was trying to perfect what Kanji had taught her, the clicking of the needles in her hands keeping the laboratory from a deathly silence.

All of a sudden, she felt a pulse. Most people would make nothing of it, but Juno ensured she only was only ever made aware of such energy when it was important. She looked up to the ceiling. _I feel something, _she thought, letting her wider influence feel throughout the mansion. At first when she touched upon a dark aura, she reached immediately to her drawer, putting a hand around her evoker in the blink of an eye. Probing further however, she saw it was intertwined with a light, much brighter than she could have ever expected to be locked with such an oppressive twin. "A persona…" she murmured. "Yet I still feel a shadow…" One thing was certain- Mitsuru had to be updated. Rousing her computer from its sleep, she immediately set up a video call. "Mitsuru-san, sorry to-"

The webcam showed her wearing attire slightly more formal than usual, in addition to a sterner expression. "Yamagishi, I am currently in conference with the prime minister," her boss said sharply. "Please be succinct."

She shrugged off her friend's rudeness. "Can't you feel it? There's something here, in the mansion…"

The redhead was silent for a time, before nodding. "I'll be downstairs ASAP."

Satisfied, Fuuka closed the window, before taking the next step, opening up the estate's camera feeds. _If I'm feeling this right, the energy is coming from… _she scrolled through the streams, _There, the meeting room!_

As she might have expected, the two new security guards were in the meeting room, worryingly with Labrys, and more worryingly still, with a newcomer, a boy, quite young by her estimates. A crumpled mess on the ground was impossible to make out in the black and white feed. She felt the room again, and confirmed the odd signature was coming from the boy. It didn't look like he could hurt a fly, but then again, Ryoji had turned out to be the harbinger of destruction. She gripped her evoker tightly.

Firstly, who was the boy? He seemed quite familiar with Kanji and Satonaka at least, but how did they let him in? The doorman would have shown him away no matter what they had said, but the back gate was much less secure. She brought up a window for a security camera there and wound it back a few minutes, then again, and again, but curiously, only saw the three current residents using it as an entrance. She switched back to the live feed in the meeting room, and rewound it, figuring she could backtrace the stranger from the minute he walked in the room. But he never walked in the room at all.

She played it back, and forward, in slow motion, and eventually frame by frame, in an effort to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. _He… He flew out of the TV. What is this?_

She heard a call. "Yamagishi!" Mitsuru was there, walking briskly to her desk. The scientist notice the evoker in its holster and the rapier on her waist- she was ready for anything. "I've put the operatives on alert. What do you know about this threat?"

"I…" She slumped in her seat. "Nothing. This doesn't make any sense."

"What does-" It was to her boss's credit that her features were still relatively cool at the sight of s creature falling out of a TV. "Is that a bear- I mean, is that a shadow?"

"I'm not sure," Fuuka admitted, "It has the energy of a shadow, but at the same time, that of a persona…"

Mitsuru raised her eyebrows. "And you're sure that's not interference from the others in the room?"

"Positive."

"Rewind the tape," she ordered, "and turn on the audio. The security code is 231-925."

She saved her objection at the use of recording equipment in a supposedly private environment for later. The pair their younger counterparts conversation, staying silent throughout. When they left the room, away from prying ears, the more experienced persona users needed a discussion. "A TV world," Fuuka mused, amazed.

"A shadow with a persona, how intriguing…" Mitsuru turned to her friend, with her hands noticeably away from her evoker or her weapon. "Do you think precautions are necessary?"

She turned back the tape to the bear-person-shadow's pratfall. "I have trouble seeing them as a potential threat."

"Perhaps, but that's what makes them dangerous. Turn the recording back to when they entered the room."

Watching the two friend's hands pass through the TV, and hearing their discussion afterwards, the CEO rubbed her eyes. "So they've told Labrys about personas… I thought the memory wipe was permanent?"

"It should have been." Fuuka shrugged. "Her plume of dusk gives her a personality, that's something we can never supress…"

"These true shadows seem dangerous. Yet Labrys is more than willing to face it to regain her memories…" Her right arm held her left shyly while she looked to the floor. "Once again the group's prior mistakes are coming back to haunt us. We can only hope her gambit fails…"

_For her sake or ours? _Fuuka asked herself. Still, the researcher was sort of relieved to see the guilt plastered over her bosses posture; sometimes even she forgot how human Mitsuru Kirijo could be. "Should we step in?

She shook her head slowly. "If what they say is true, I fear if we enter that room we would have to face our own selves. It's too much of a risk"

"But we already have our personas," Fuuka pointed out, "Maybe that means there's no 'true shadow' for us to face."

"Even so, we have no data or fathoming into the true nature of this world. Remember how lost you were your first few journeys into Tartarus?" The younger girl shivered at the memory, of corridor after corridor, all looking exactly the same, while she was supposed to steer the group towards the next floor. "Even with our persona abilities, this may be more than we can handle at this point in time."

Fuuka was still inclined to think they were making things far more difficult than they had to be. "Why don't we just ask them? If we explain about the incident in Port Island, show them our personas, then maybe we can help each other."

Mitsuru considered this for a moment, which is far better response than Fuuka expected, but shook her head nonetheless. "If we divulge everything, they'll immediately turn to us to shed light on how Labrys was stirred by the word persona. There's still a chance for her to walk away from all the pain we caused her…" She bridged her fingers together, and made a decision. "From now on, keep tabs on them at all times. The minute they take an excursion into this TV world, contact me, and we can wait outside to see their results."

"Wait outside?" She had no real picture of what lay within the TV world, but her fretting brain filled it with all sorts of shadows. "But what if they're in danger?"

"There's no use putting ourselves at risk in a situation we can't handle. I'm sure they're well equipped to deal with threats familiar to-"

"What about Labrys?

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Fuuka… We can't-" She sighed. "I can't. I have to know that I tried my hardest to keep that girl from knowing the truth."

Fuuka placed her hand over her friend's. "Okay…" She acquiesced, before locking on to her friend's pupils with her own. "But then we tell them everything, and if Labrys really does find her past, then we have to let her know anything she wants to know."

With a degree of apprehension, Mitsuru nodded.

* * *

"That's so tragic Labby-chan!" the boy sobbed, burying his head into her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist. It was a routine that Chie and Kanji had seen a thousand times before, but it was working wonders on the new blood.

"Don't cry Teddie," she reassured him cheerfully, "once we go inside the TV and face my shadow, everything will fall into place!"

Kanji scratched his chin. "I wonder what you forgot…"

"Oh, maybe I was a spy who fell into the ocean! Or I'm some kind of sleeper agent, oh!" Her eyes lit up. "Maybe I'm a princess and Mitsuru lied about my parents to keep me safe." She squinted. "Or off the throne…"

Teddie looked up to her, still locked around her frame. "And I can be your prince!" For some godawful reason he tried leaning in closer, leaving Labrys no choice but to push his face away with the palm of her hand, sending him to the floor, sprawled out. "Owie…"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up Labby-chan," Chie sniggered, "It'll probably turn out you just walked into a lamppost."

"Spoilsport," the maid said, sticking out her tongue.

"Anyway, I've got a question we can get answers to right now." She pointed at Teddie. "How did you even come to find us? Come to think of it, why are you here, I thought you were still globetrotting?"

"Technically I still am," He clarified, dusting himself off. "This mansion is fan-say, my followers will love it! Say cheese!" In a flash, he whipped out his phone, stretching his arm away from the group and taking a snap.

"Your followers?" Chie asked, hoping the bear at least got her good side.

"Of course! My picto-jam is world famous," he boasted. "I've sent you the link a thousand times Chie-chan, you should really join in!"

Chie's social media presence died the day Yu's seven (Eight? Nine?) timing was revealed. Too many old photos, too many new ones; too many memories. "I'll be okay, thanks…"

"It's pretty good actually," Kanji said, "Ted's gone to a lotta places." His brow slackened. "Though I don't think there's a pic on there where ya don't have your arms around a chick."

"A Teddie does what a Teddie does," he winked. "As for finding you guys, I was making my monthly visit back home to see Nana-chan, and she said you two had moved away! Dojima-san didn't tell me where to, and there was nowhere in town to ask, so I used my bear-y sensitive nose to find you. It wasn't easy, but I eventually picked you guys up!"

"When we stuck our hands inside the TV…" Chie nodded.

"Uh-huh! Chie's smell is very distinctive as is, but you Labby-chan," he glowed, "You're the cleanest person I've ever smelled!"

"Then how did you smell her?" Kanji muttered, rolling his eyes at Labrys' blush. _I'll hand it to the bastard, _he thought, _he knows what he's doing. _"Wait," he wondered aloud, "If you were in Inaba, how did you get all the way over here? And how could you smell them from so far away?"

"I'm the master of the TV world now Kanji," he declared proudly, "It bends to my will, most of the time, hehe…" he lay back on Chie's bed and sighed dreamily. "And it's so clean now I can sense pretty much any disturbance. Oh, it's so beautiful in there Labby-chan, you have to see it!"

The invitation was a little forthcoming, but she was itching to get some answers. "So, um," Labrys coughed, "When are we going in?"

The girl's enthusiasm worried Chie greatly, and she tried to think smartly. "Hmm… Even with the TV world being clean now, we still don't know if shadows will form in there, even your true shadow, and if it does, we need to be prepared. We need to get gear."

"Like what," Labrys asked curiously.

"Medical supplies, some tougher clothes, boots for me, a chair for this doofus," she gestured to Kanji, "And… You still have your claws, right?" Teddie nodded. "Am I missing anything?"

"Probably," Kanji shrugged, "But I really can't remember what the weirder stuff did, so it's probably not worth it."

"What do you mean?" Labrys asked.

"Like, in the TV world, a can of Dr. Salt gives you a _real _boost, yeah? Then stuff like mouthwash and cough syrup does some other useful stuff…" Labrys didn't look as if she was following at all, so Kanji wound things down. "Anyway, so we just need some weapons, armour, and medical supplies."

Chie nodded. "Me and you can go out to the resort town tomorrow, they'll have stuff we can use then we can go into the TV the day after. Is that okay Labrys?"

While she smiled, Teddie pouted. "Why not me, you know I love shopping!"

"You," she replied sternly, "Have to keep a low profile. You're technically trespassing on the property of one of the most powerful women on the planet right now."

"Oh she sounds wonderful!" He exclaimed, sitting right back up. "When can I meet her?"

"Hopefully never," Kanji deadpanned, "we'd like to keep this job y'know."

Before Teddie could start whining, placed a fist into her palm. "Alright. So, while we're getting stuff, Labrys, you gotta keep an eye on Teddie. It's a trickier job than you'd think, so stay on your toes."

"Got it!" She was so excited, this would be the first real adventure in her life, and then afterwards, she might remember all the other ones! Even now, she had yet another new friend to talk to. "So Teddie, what did Chie mean by you going globetrotting?"

"Exactly as it sounds Labby-chan! When people were feeling bad, it made the TV world bad, therefore if I spread the wonders of Teddie across the planet, my world will stay clean!"

"Wow!" The isolation and trappings of the mansion had understandably cultured a desire for travel in the young maid. "You must have a lotta cash to afford that."

"Not at all, I'm broke!" he said happily. "I can go anywhere using the TV world, and people are usually bear-y nice to me wherever I am, so that's all I need!"

"That sounds great! Where have you been so far?"

"All over, lemme think…" He scoured his memory for a particular tale of which to regale the new babe in his life. "One time, I was in a place they call Amer-ree-ka, and…"

* * *

_'This is strange,' she thought. She wasn't used to being able to think at this time. Enough about the time, the place she was in was stranger still. Looking around, she was outside, and there was a rock, and it was dark, but while everything was there, it was all so fuzzy. Her attention was taken from her surroundings and to the person she was talking to however. She must have been speaking and listening for those last few minutes as well, but the words were lost from her the minute they left her mouth, and wasn't particularly sure how the person was responding either. The person, girl, that's all she could tell really. They were smiling at least, and she thought she was too. At some point she swore she could hear a dog bark. The one thing she knew however, that permeated the haze, was that she was happy._

_Then everything morphed. The dark of night shifted, switched, changed to the harshness of a thousand fluorescent tubes, all focused on her. Something moved in the darkness beyond the light. She hefted something, she didn't know what, and automatically, stepped towards the blackness, white light following, and stung with all her might. The movement stopped, and the results were illuminated. Everything began to pulse red. The girl she had been talking to earlier, lay on the ground. Cut in half, a smile still on her face. Something oozed from the cut, pulsing out with the rhythm of the light, faster and faster, redder and redder. _

_The girl dropped what she was holding and fell to her knees. The light rose and she could see the entire scene. Her friend wasn't the only body. They lay scattered across the room, on their own, in piles, on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, all dripping, all dead. The girl covered her eyes with her hands and wished for it to end, feeling a hot humid breath, running down from her neck to the foot of her spine._

_And for the first time she could remember, Labrys awoke with a scream._


	13. Gearing Up

It took her many deep, laboured breaths to realise where she was. It was just her room, filled with its usual cacophony of crap. _But then where was I before, _she wondered, shivering slightly as her thoughts drifted back to that place. It was hazy, which was kinda impossible for something that happened so recently, unless-

_Oh! _She realised. _So that was a dream then…_

One of the doctors she'd seen after getting out of hospital told her it was unusual, but not unheard of, that someone with memory loss like hers may stop being able to dream. She was pretty disappointed, since every dream sequence she'd seen in print or on screen looked pretty fun, even the scary ones! _Shows what I know…_

Rubbing her eyes, her head fell back to the pillow, slumping right to see the clock on her bedside table. _6:57, as usual… _Her body clock was so in tune with her job she doubted she even needed the alarm, which she always bopped on the head at the point of the hour to avoid its excessive mewing. The cat-clock was a relic from some show she couldn't even remember watching. At this point, most of her room was. Sure, all the books and films were fun to watch, but she would have been lying if she said any had stuck with her. They lay scattered across the room, their purpose had already been spent; to provide a journey to a girl who couldn't go anywhere.

"C'mon lady, you ain't usually such a downer," she told herself. _You aren't usually a dreamer either, in the literal sense I mean- _"Shaddup brain," she grunted, hitting the alarm at seven on the dot, and rolling onto the floor, shuffling like a zombie to her closet. _Okay, so today I gotta do the guest rooms, the dining rooms, and… _She stopped, remembering yesterday, and her new friend in Teddie, along with the prospect of finally knowing who she was. A smile stretched her lips. _Just a couple more shifts as the maid, and then I can find out who Labrys really is! _She threw on her uniform with little complaint, but the mirror on her dresser caught her eye.

She dragged her chair and sat in front of it, inspecting it thoroughly. _Is this Labrys the same one I'll find tomorrow? _She ran a hand through her impressively sized ponytail. _What if the others don't like that Labrys…? _She tried staring at her own pupils, getting closer and closer to the mirror. _Hey shadow, are you in there? We're coming to get you! _She giggled a little at her silly bravado, which faded as the implications of her dream became more apparent.

_I hear about personas and I have my first dream since I woke up, _she thought, sinking back into her chair. _And it was pretty horrible… _She was starting to realise what 'be careful what you wish for' really meant. What if her past wasn't the fairy tale she hoped for, or of the normal life she could have been happy for have lived? She couldn't think of the dream's content at all of this point, but the feelings still lingered, of pain, cold through to the bone, and of an ultimate sorrow. _So I guess more of a nightmare…_

Now what was truly apparent was fear. The time in her life she could actually remember was short, but comfortable. She had no worries, asides from the one glaring mystery, which she managed to sweep under the rug easily enough. Was it a good idea, really, to change the status quo and jump wholeheartedly into something so incredibly unknown?

Looking around her room, at her empty life, substantiated with entertainment, products that had long since gone stale, gave her the answer. _Better keep that dream to myself, _she decided, _it'd probably give them jitters. _For now, she had to work. Pulling a few funny faces in the mirror to completely remove the creases on her forehead, she stood up, ready to make sure that for the last two days of this Labrys, she would be doing her very best.

* * *

"How do we even do this…?"

Yu always did the shopping during the investigation. He had a knack for knowing exactly what equipment everyone could use and need, and a seemingly unlimited supply of funds they somehow scavenged from the TV world. Chie wondered if that was technically some sort of supernatural counterfeit. "Um, we need a first aid kit, so the drug store-"

"Which is where exactly?" The pair had never been into the town before; it was close-ish to the mansion, not enough to be convenient, but certainly doable. A distracted Kanji was still amazed that he could simply turn his head ninety degrees to the left and be treated with the spectacular view of the sparkling waters. On that thought, he peered towards the sun suspiciously. The weather had been perfect, if hotter than he was used to, since their arrival, and he knew places this tropical had a rainy season. He wondered when their luck would start to run out.

"I don't know," Chie sighed, "The town isn't that large, more of a cul-de-sac looking from the map." This was a holiday destination for some, so there had to be a place for people to get their various odds and ends. Chie stretched out her arms, one holding her shoes, seeing as she much preferred traversing the beach barefoot. The blissfully silky feeling of the fine white sand between her toes just felt so right.

Her appreciation of the simpler things was cut short by a timid question from her partner. "Think we're doin' the right thing here?"

Chie eyed him carefully. "Whaddya mean?"

"I mean with Labrys," he rubbed his neck, "Ya think this'll really help her?"

Chie shrugged. "You were the one being all gung-ho about it…"

He pouted. "That's cuz it's usually your job to be."

The girl held up her hands, palms facing skyward. "I dunno if it'll help with her memories exactly, but she's stubborn. We'll have to go in with her or else she'll try doing it herself." She stared along the beach. "If I'm honest, I'm worried. There's only the three of us that can actually fight, and Teddie will still have to be running support. We don't even know if we can still summon our personas…"

"I think we can," Kanji said firmly, offering an explanation when Chie offered him a strange look. "I mean, I can still feel Moah, and he's kinda been… Vocal, lately."

The martial artist narrowed her eyes. "Like you have a voice in your head?"

"No, I ain't crazy! Like, I can feel him, since Labrys hounded us for questions yesterday. Like he's bristling for a fight." He scratched his chin. "Like during the investigation actually…"

Chie was about to rebuke him, Suzuka Gongen hadn't reached out to her at all, but she thought for a moment. She had been, but that had been since everything with Yu came out, her rage channelling into her persona, who in turn kept niggling her for petty vengeance. Since then, she'd slowly tuned out her other self, until it was less than a buzz in her ear. Now, if she focussed, she could see the buzz was different now, quieter. She closed her eyes, and took an introspective period. Suzuka wasn't angry anymore, something had calmed her. Yet there was worry, and a certain sense of… Excitement? "You're right, I feel it too. And her reaction to personas…" Chie nodded. "There's more to this. We gotta be ready."

"Right," Kanji agreed, finally seeing some buildings around the corner of the bay. "Hey, we're almost there!" He frowned. "Wait, if this is a resort island, aren't the prices gonna be really jacked up?"

"Probably," Chie shrugged casually, pilling a fat wad of notes out of her pocked, "But that isn't gonna be a problem."

"Holy shit!" Kanji had seen the money Yu had paraded around, but the sight of it always begged for questions. "Where did you-"

"Labrys. She knew we wouldn't have gotten our paychecks yet so she offered a donation."

Kanji grunted. "That's more of a college fund."

"Her food and rent come free, and she doesn't go anywhere. She must have a decent amount saved."

"Yer right…" He clicked his fingers. "That's a little off, dontcha think?"

"Hmm," Chie asked, distracted with flipping through the money in her hands, "What's off?"

"Like you said, she doesn't go anywhere. If she has that money, an' she didn't have many real friends here, surely she would've taken a trip at some point? I mean, it'd make sense if she was a kid," He continued, Chie carefully thinking his points through, "But she ain't, well she can't be if they've got her workin' full time anyway. S'up with that?"

The brunette's mind whirred as she tried to fit the pieces together. "Yeah, and a maid shouldn't really have any trouble booking vacation time. Y'know, I had a weird feeling about why she's really here- Oh my god." She stopped in her tracks, and gripped her forehead tightly. "Naoto-kun..."

"Naoto," Kanji repeated, suddenly worried. "What about Naoto?"

"Remember when I told you it was her who wanted us to take this job, to find some information?" They both winced at the lie, which had been mostly buried under the excitement of starting their new lives. "Well, the reason she brought them up was because apparently the Kirijo group have links to some sort of shadow activity."

The tailor's face grew pale. "Shit, you serious?" She nodded gravely, while his mouth was left slightly agape. "But- How? We're the only ones that know about the TV world, right?"

"Maybe there's more to it than that," Chie reasoned, the worry showing her voice, "Maybe they know about the TV world, or there are more shadows like Teddie who managed to squeeze their way out…"

The prospect was damn near terrifying to Kanji, who ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck. So if they're researching shadows, and Labrys remembers something about personas and they keep her cooped up in here…" His eyes widened. "Did they brainwash her? Like, she saw something she shouldn't and they wanted to keep her quiet?"

She looked at him sceptically. "Wouldn't killing her have been easier- Gah!" The martial artist shook her head violently, squeezing her eyes shut. "We can't go around making wild assumptions. Maybe what Naoto heard was just a rumour."

"Yeah…" His voice was a little shaken by the extra layers of complexity added to the jumbled pot of their lives, and he scoured back through it to try and find some more hints. "Fuukas lab had a buncha weird stuff in it though," he said thoughtfully, "maybe she's knows something. I'm giving her a knitting lesson tonight so maybe I can ask her…"

"You can't." Chie said firmly. Usually she'd tease him about having private lessons with an older woman, but the situation was escalating far too seriously. "She's one of Mitsuru's oldest friends right? There's some loyalty there, even if she knows nothing about what really happened to Labrys. We have to be subtle."

Her paranoia was a little off-base to the bleached blond. "Do we? I mean, you've never met her, but trust me, she isn't capable of that kind of thing."

"You've known her for a week, Kanji, we can't take that chance. What matters is Labrys," she decided. "If she regains her memories when we fight her shadow, and we find out the Kirijo group did something to her, then we leave with Teddie through the TV, and take her with us. Agreed?"

"Agreed," he said, without a moment's hesitation. He sincerely doubted Fuuka was involved, but if the group itself was really keeping Labrys under lock and key they needed to get her out. "You know, they'll follow us…"

The prospect of them being on the wrong side of a multinational corporation wasn't great, but it was still and easy choice to make. "It's the right thing to do."

"Reckon we tell her about this?"

"No," she said, "If she gets her memory back we'll know for certain. If she doesn't, then maybe this is all just a big coincidence…"

"Jesus," Kanji exhaled. "I didn't think coming up here would get so complicated…"

"I know," Chie sighed, pulling his arm so they could get the supplies as planned. "But it's good right? We're helping people again."

"…Yeah. Chie?" She looked up at him. "If we're in deep shit, well, I'm glad you're the one I'm stuck in it with."

Her smile was small, but his words helped her feel a lot braver. "Thanks. It's the same for you big guy…" She looked over the horizon, eyes glazing over. "I just hope it's a fight we can win…."

* * *

Teddie was booored. A bear like him should be allowed to frolic and flourish in a mansion like this, yet he confined to Kanji's room, in what he decided was a form of torture for something he never even did! Everyone always seemed mad at him for something, Chie when he wanted to meet her mysterious boss, Yuki-chan whenever he tried keeping her up to date on what everybody was up too, even that street vendor, who quite frankly didn't need all those apples in the first place!

Fortunately, he had his phone, his most prized possession, earned through the saving and saving of his paycheck from Junes. It was pretty much the best thing ever; it kept him in constant contact with his friends, could tell him so many things about the human world, and had so many games he didn't know what to do with them! So for now he was in Kanji's closet, on a comfortable pile of yarn, making some blocks mix with other blocks to make some numbers but if he was honest he wasn't sure how that last part was happening.

He most likely would have spent the rest of the day in the same position, and on the same level, but a voice proved to be his saviour. "Teddie, ya in here?"

Gasping in delight, he slid the door of the closet open and rolled out dramatically, landing on one knee with his arms wide. "Labby-chan, you've come to save me!"

"Save you?" She laughed, plonking herself down on Kanji's bed. "From what? Why were ya in there anyway?"

"A bear can't stand being alone," he sighed, springing onto the bed and landing face first much to his new friend's amusement. "Bedrooms should never have just one person in them, don't you agree?"

"Err…" She was in tiny camp that on the whole found the bear's antics lovable, but that still came with its caveats. "I dunno, I've never shared, besides from one time with Chie…"

Teddie's mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "My, how scandalous! And for you to be so forthright about it…"

"Not like that ya maroon," she blushed, "I mean like a sleepover."

"Oh! I always had sleepovers. Me and Yosuke were a constant par-tay!" He smiled happily. "We stayed up all night talking, well, I did most of the talking since his jaw was so tired from work, and he'd do this thing where he pretended he didn't hear any of it in the morning. Ah, old times…"

"And I thought I was weird," Labrys murmured. "Anyway," she said brightly, "I'm on my lunch break and figured you'd want some company."

"Teddies do love company!" He agreed, hugging her tightly from her side.

Prying herself free, she remembered part of their conversation yesterday. "I guess you would huh? Didn't you say you were all alone before you met everyone else?"

"Uh-Huh!" He nodded. "A bear is only as good as his friends, and I wasn't much when I didn't have friends… But now I do, and all of a sudden, yet another!"

His cheeks radiated a pure joy, stretching Labrys' lips wide. "You're right about that." Thinking of his friends, a curiosity came over her, and she broached a topic she really knew she shouldn't. "'Course, not with Yu and Yukiko anymore, right?"

He tilted his head, still smiling. "Why wouldn't I be?"

_Darn. _She was just hoping to get a few more details on the implosion of their investigation team, but apparently it couldn't be that easy. "I dunno, maybe because he cheated on her with, well, everybody?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "You can't really focus it all on Yuki-chan, she was just another point in sensei's shimmering web…"

"You-" She started hesitantly, "You sound impressed…"

"Well shouldn't we all be?" He pointedly replied. "The most eligible bachelorettes across Inaba, all courted by one lone hero! That's why he's sensei, and I'm simply a Teddie."

"Don't you care?" She asked harshly, her heart breaking slightly when his expression fell. "He played all of your friends for chumps and left 'em feeling awful."

He pondered that for a few moments, seemingly doing some mental calculations. "Well, that's what I never understood," he admitted, "They all wanted him, and he wanted all of them. Surely everyone should have been happy…"

"But ya see," Labrys tried to explain "they each wanted to be the only ones that had him, so it broke their trust when they all found out that wasn't how it was."

"That just sounds a teensy bit selfish to me!" That was fundamentally true, and she was about to follow through with how that was sometimes a good thing, a human thing, before he barrelled through with his next point. "Besides, you can't expect a hot stud like Yu to make roots with only one love. He must go from flower to flower, sampling the most exotic delights of the world, for of all us poor mortals who can't."

The maid's jaw hung slightly open. "Did anyone ever tell you how a real relationship is supposed to work?"

"Hmm… Well, sensei said some stuff about having many bonds, and I always love going out into the world making new friends! Hmm," he scratched his chin, "If what sensei did isn't what a classy bear isn't meant to do, I guess I don't really Labby-chan."

She smiled, glad to be somewhat getting through to him. "That's right. A real relationship is all about-"

"No no no, don't tell me!" Teddie's interruption irked her, but his dreamlike expression more than countered that feeling. "I want it to be a surprise!"

Labrys' eyebrow arched. "Really? Summit that serious, I'd rather have a manual…"

"That might be nice," the blonde conceded with an airy sigh, "But when I finally find the girl I wanna stick with for-bear-ver, I'm want to be able to watch our love grow and grow, with no spoilers whatsoever!"

_He is a kid, _the maid thought simply, shaking her head with a daft smile. His attitude was very refreshing for her; she never thought she'd meet someone with a head higher in the clouds than hers! She chuckled lightly. "I can understand that." But soon her cheerful outlook began to feel a chill encroaching, the reminder of the trial they would be facing the following day. Her shift in demeanour must have been noticeable, because before she knew it she could feel tight squeeze between her sides. "Uh, Ted?"

His gip loosened, but he didn't release. "You looked a little scared, and I know whenever I was scared during the investigation, a hug was all I really wanted…"

"Aw, ya dumb bear," she murmured, wrapping her arm around him. She exhaled slowly. "Are the true shadows really that scary?" He didn't answer, but he nodded. "Great… Um, can I ask why?"

His expression was unusual, pained, Labrys figured out eventually, with pursed lips and downcast eyes. "The battles were pretty fun when it was easy," he began, still avoiding his new friends' eyes. "Things could get hairy, but sensei was smart enough to keep us all safe most of the time. It was different with the true shadows. Even for shadows, they were strange, and I lived in the TV!" He shuddered slightly, and Labrys tightened her grip. "They were creepy as monsters, they were all sorts of strange things. Fighting them always felt final, like we were a slipup away from not being able to get back up… All that still doesn't compare to how we find them at first.

"It feels so _wrong_," he said firmly, thinking back, "Even when I didn't know Yuki-chan, or Kanji-kun, or any of them, just watching themselves tear them apart was horrible. Then it happened to me, and I didn't know what to think…"

Knowing she was definitely overstepping her boundaries, she asked the obvious question. "What did he say?"

The bear gulped. "He said… He said things that were true. Like yours will. I'd been alone for so long, when people started going into the TV, I wanted to be their friend so badly… I tried to forget who I was, if I was a shadow, they'd all run away. It almost worked too, until the big meanie brought it all affront." He scrunched his eyes closed. "They say everything you don't want to hear, and no matter what you think, it'll be enough to wear you down too."

She kept it to herself, but she kind of doubted it. There really wasn't much to her as a persona, and she was so curious about her past she figured she'd be happy even with horrific little details. Sure, it was arrogant, but she was unique- she knew how the TV world worked before she would be jumping in. Things would go juuust fine. For now however, she felt a little guilty for putting the usually sunny bear into his currently wilted state. "But it all worked out right?" She reassured him, rubbing his shoulder. "And I know ofr a fact you wouldn't change it for anything."

Just like that, he was back to normal, beaming from ear to ear and gushing to the maid. "Yes siree sir! It'll all go great tomorrow, oh, and I bet your your persona is gonna be beautiful!"

She grinned. "Now we're talkin'! Say, I never really heard what yours look like, or Chie and Kanji's either."

"Oh, they're so graceful," he reminisced fondly, "Mine more than anybody else's you understand, and honestly I always thought Kanji's looked a little like a trash pile, but ya see…"

* * *

This knitting class had been easier in pretty much every way. The small talk when Fuuka came over flowed, and she seemed to pick up the technique at a much faster pace. Hell, the wool just seemed easier to manipulate, even for him, but soon they settled quietly into the lull of both working on their respective creations. With that peace came the group of niggles that had been bothering him at the beach, the needles pricking his mind much sharper than the pair in his hands. "Hey Fuuka," he started, keeping his eyes glued to his project so she wouldn't see the tension in his brow, "Do ya know anything about Labrys' parents?"

With a sharp intake of breath she hoped wasn't too audible, the scientist copied her teacher, keeping her face away from any possibly probing glances. "Um, what do you mean?"

"Just wonderin'," He stumbled nervously, "I mean, she's the reason she got offered the gig here right? What happened to 'em?" The clinking sound of his needles paused. "What happened to her…?"

Once again she found herself lying, and the genuine concern she sensed from the tailor made it all the more horrible to do so. "I'm sorry Kanji-kun, I'm not really sure. The Kirijo group is so big, someone as lowly as me couldn't hope to keep track of it all…"

Now this didn't feel right. Kanji wasn't exactly bright, but he had instinct. Fuuka was certainly meek, but he knew she'd never be out of the loop like that. Besides, living with your CEO 24/7 puts you at a much higher position than 'lowly', and something a person even with her excessive modesty would know. "Really?" Kanji spat, without really meaning to. "Mitsuru takes in a kid out of the goodness of her heart and she doesn't tell her best friend in the building what her story is?"

Fuuka bit her lip. For the first time he was pushing about all the little inconsistencies and strangeness left lying around the mansion. _Do they suspect something? _Her first instinct was to run and tell Mitsuru, but she knew how that would make her look. She had to stand her ground. "I don't know what to say," She stated as plainly as she could, "She doesn't tell me everything-"

"Then why didn't you ask?" He could feel his shoulders tensing, along with the atmosphere. He abandoned all pretence of being subtle, and looked straight at her. "Labrys was your friend too, you aren't gonna convince me you never tried finding out more about her."

She, against her better judgement, moved her head up, only to be batted straight back down by his fierce gaze. "Maybe I respect her privacy-" She tried timidly.

"Bullshit." The blonde sternly replied, as his elder pursed her lips. "I bet she was always asking stuff. Maybe not at first, but I bet you know how cooped up she feels in here, and you're the best person to go to for answers."

"I thought you said that was Mitsuru," she said uselessly, a hint of defiance in her tone squashed under a tonne of regret.

"She wouldn't give anything away. You're not that strong." The coldness in Kanji's tone surprised him, his frustration at Labrys' long held pain bringing him back to the person he used to be. The person he was now felt awful, seeing the woman he admired for her gentler nature looking shrunk down on his floor. "Shit," he blurted, "I'm sorry."

Fuuka laughed a little, a sad and airy sound. "No, I think you were right with that assessment…"

"That doesn't make it-" He stopped himself, and exhaled. "Look. If Labrys has been around you for so long, and you were her friend, really her friend, shouldn't you have tried to help her piece together what happened?"

"I am her friend," she said quietly, "I just… I just know the answers wouldn't help her.

"Then what is the answer?" She remained silent. His mind went back to a few days ago, to the shiny gun he found in her lab. "What is it you research?"

This was too much. Fuuka knew the game was all but over, but she had enough dignity not to fold right there and come clean about everything. She owed Mitsuru that much that least, to let things play out the way she wanted them to. "I'm suddenly quite tired," she said plainly, standing and smoothing the creases in her turquoise skirt, "would it be possible for us to continue this lesson another time?"

Kanji's eyes were hard, challenging, even, but they did nothing to stop her, and neither did the rest of him. "Yeah, sure…" She tried to smile, but it was a hollow gesture he didn't bother returning. As she opened the door, he did say one thing. "I'll see you next time I guess."

She stopped and gripped the door handle tight, unbeknownst to her teacher, the one she had been deceiving in all the days she had known them, the one whose tenderness and peaceful skill had made him only like one other man she'd met in her life, the one she knew would be throwing himself into a battle she didn't even know was winnable, all for a girl who'd had the truth kept from her by the ones she'd called friend the longest. "I hope so, Kanji-kun…" She breathed with her departure, leaving the tailor alone with his wool.

He spent a group of very long moments with his head cast down, rubbing his eyes, unable to deny what Fuuka's words had meant. There was something bigger going on here, and it was his and Chie's duty to help Labrys escape her prison, both the blocks in her memory and the island she had called home for years now. But only if they were quick. He got to his feet, peeping his head out to the corridor and looking both ways with a sensible degree of paranoia, before creeping over to Chie's room and entering without knocking.

"Rude!" Was what he heard upon entering, along with what he felt; a face full of pillow, thrown with a frightening velocity.

He was ready to duck out, brain coming up with a thousand uncomfortable things he could have walked in on his friend doing, before a familiar giggle told him that nothing much was happening. "Bear-y audacious Kan-chan," Teddie laughed, "Sneaking into Chie-chan's room, how inspired! Alas, anybear with their head zipped on tight knows the maiden has to be _away _from her castle before you make your entry."

More laughter, more of a titter, rose, then quickly died. "Wait," Labrys asked, "What does that even mean?"

"It means, my dear maid-en, to surprise a lady, you have to pop up where they least expect! And doing so in their bedroom minimises the amount of-" he wriggled his eyebrows "-travel time."

Kanji found the comment was more surreal than anything, but was still glad to see it earned him kick from Chie, putting him flat on the floor. "Can't you not be a pervert for once in your life?" She moaned, lying back onto her bed. The girls had taken the privileged position on the comfy mattress, with Teddie on the floor, denied such a seat for an earlier infraction, Kanji decided. Chie turned her head to the new arrival. "You wanna hang out? We're trying to keep calm before the mission tomorrow…"

"It's fun!" Labrys piped up. "Yasogami High sounded like so much fun-"

"About that." The tailor looked between them all, the creases in his forehead enough to make them all unsettled, before finally settling on Chie. "We need to go. Now."

"Go? Go where?" His features remained constant, and the martial artist realised what he was getting at. "The TV?"

He nodded. "I was talkin' to Fuuka. We were right, this place doesn't add up, an' she knows that I know."

"Doesn't add up?" Labrys repeated, "What do you mean?"

His hand clenched into a fist. "We ain't got time. I don't know if she knows exactly what we're thinking, but she's smart, she'll work it out. We gotta get Labrys in there before that happens."

"You MORON!" Chie shouted, leaping onto her toes and squaring up to the much taller youth. "I told you not to-"

"Well I did," he retorted loudly, leaning so her was directly above her, "And what the hell does it matter anyway? Right now, tomorrow morning, it's all the same. We gotta do this."

"But they know," the brunette rambled, "They're onto us and that makes it harder if we run and this wasn't part of the plan!"

"Plan?" Teddie's soft voice cut through the atmosphere, and the pair stared at him. "Wasn't the plan just helping Labby-chan get her memories back?"

They both turned to the girl, head slumped, turquoise fringe making her expression unreadable. "I… I just want to find out who I am, where I came from," she croaked eventually. "I'm sorry I'm bein' such a bother, but I feel so close now..." She looked up, eyes like steel, and lips fierce. "I don't care about any of the other stuff, an' now you mention it, I wouldn't be able to get to sleep right now anyway. I want to go now," she nodded, "if that's okay with you guys?"

Kanji nodded immediately, while Teddie more theatrically scrambled up into a rigid salute. "Anything for you, madam!" His hand fell when he noticed Chie, who was looking away from all of them. "Chie-chan?"

She was thinking back to before. To every other excursion in the TV world, how dangerous it could be, how unpredictable, unexpected, _exciting, _a dangerous part of her mind added in. But most of all, they would be going in without their leader, a scumbag who despite his many, _many_ faults, kept them all alive. Who was to say that would be the case this time? She sighed, and turned to who friends. "We're rushed, underprepared, and have no idea what we're doing." Her fear spread between the others, before a wry smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "What else is new?"

Gathering the equipment was a formality. Chie was already wearing the heavy boots she'd procured to get a feel for their weight, while Labrys settled on taking one of the metallic mops out of the storage cupboard. Kanji figured one of the chairs in the meeting room would be good enough for his purposes, and Teddie always hid his claws in god knows where anyway. Protection wise, there wasn't really anything available that could be considered ample, so they all picked their day clothes, hoping some familiarity might keep things optimistic. To cap it all off, Teddie had been entrusted with a satchel filled with odd and ends from his friends shopping trip, which at this point meant a random assortment of treats that may not even be beneficial for the group.

The new team stood astride one another, lined up in front of the flat screen of the meeting room. For three of them there was a wave of nostalgia, for the newbie amongst them, trepidation. The answers lay just behind that empty blackness, but was she really ready for them? "Uh, this things higher on the wall then we're used to…" Kanji noted, staring down the screen like it was a nosy old cop.

"Then we improvise," Chie shrugged, dragging one of the room's chairs underneath the gateway. "Think we'll still need to make a dive through. Not it!"

"Not it!" Teddie and Labrys cheerfully repeated.

"Not- crap." Kanji, far too slow, scowled, taking the chair he had chosen as his weapon and hoisted it through the screen, Labrys' eyes even now growing wide at the sight. "Man, that'll hurt if I land on it…"

"Then don't you big lug," Chie soothed teasingly, patting him on the shoulder. "Or at least move it out of our way!"

"Yeah yeah…" He muttered, making some space between himself and his vaulting point. Without waiting for a cue, the bleached blond made his run, placed a stead foot on the chair, and threw himself through the air, past the TV, and into the world beyond.

Teddie's cheeks were practically glowing. "That looked fun! Teddie next, Teddie next!" Before Chie could protest, he was scampering to the entrance, somehow tripping on the back of the chair, but still managing to tumble into the TV. Labrys swore she could hear his surprised yelp echo out into nothing as he fell further and further.

All that was left was her and Chie, the more experienced girl giving her a reassuring smile. "I know it's hard, I mean, I was in a sorta frenzy when I jumped through the first time, and I was still scared…"

"I am scared," the maid squeaked out. The sudden comfort of her friend's arm around her shoulder almost broke her there and them. "I've thought about this for so long and I have to do this but I'm still really scared-"

"I know." Labrys turned her head, and their pupils locked. "It was like that every time. We had to save a person's life, and none of us wanted to admit the very idea petrified us. So much pressure… But we were supposed to be heroes. Infallible. And y'know what?"

"What?"

"We all could do a damn good job pretending. So that's what we're doing now. Because we're going to save you," she nodded with a strong resolution, "To the bitter end." Feeling Chie's clap on her back, and much braver, than before, she took Kanji and Teddies earlier position, in front of the TV, with enough space for a run up. "Oh, one thing," Chie called, "The drop gets pretty dizzy. Just warning ya!"

With the message, she sped off, with more energy she could ever remember having, across the floor, over the chair, through the air, and into a new world, where maybe, just maybe, her shadow, and the truth, would lay waiting.

* * *

_**AN- **_Hey guys, been a while! Anyhoo, I'll be getting a couple more chapters out on this I think, then let it simmer for a little while. I have other stuff I want to work on during the summer. I'm gonna get to a good drop off point, don't worry, but after that, I'll probably work on this when I need to push through writers block or if I have some truly excellent ideas. In the mean time, as always, tell me what you think! See you next time _**-WN**_


	14. The Shadows of her Past

There are a few people that know what the inside of a TV looks like; your average repairman, the sad souls on the production line, and the kids who just had to play ball even when it was raining. Those who have seen the inside of the TV _world_ however are a rarer prospect still, and now Labrys could count herself among their number.

Her landing was odd. She flew out of the portal at an angle practically parallel to the ground, and raising her arms to protect herself did nothing to stop the loud thump and the subsequent skidding. The boys immediately dashed over, concerned, but she grumbled her to way to her feet to before they could lend a hand. "Does it usually hurt this much?" She asked lowly as she dusted herself off.

Kanji shrugged, with a small smile. "There's a knack to it. Prolly helps if you find a TV that doesn't need a run-up."

Teddie got Labrys' attention by hopping across her vision, and spreading his arms wide. "So this is my home when I don't have a home!" He frowned slightly. "But people usually let me stay so are they my homes? This is more of a birthplace I guess… What do you think?"

She was dumbstruck, which considering her only experience was with an idyllic tropical island, was a testament to the world's beauty. Yakushima had more than its fair share of towering hills and dense forests, but this place had everything. Rolling fields in one direction, towering mountains in the next, all coloured by some sort of sheen reminiscent of the sparkle she could find in Teddie's eyes. "It's… Amazing," she turned to Teddie, "How could you ever leave?"

He looked at her strangely. "Well, it wasn't always like this, when the other shadows were around this place was bear-y nasty."

"Besides," a familiar voice joined in, Chie having made her way through the screen, "Running away from a paradise, isn't that exactly what you're doing?"

The maid nodded. "Fair point."

Chie rubbed her chin. "That's a thought actually Teddie…"

"Oh that's rare!" The bear said brightly.

"If the Kirijo group know about shadows, wouldn't they have noticed when we fixed the TV world?"

Kanji's expression showed he was putting a lot of effort in helping that trail of thought, but without many results. "Uhh, I guess they must've if shadows come from the TV…"

The martial artists kicked her heels at the ground. "Ugh, we're here and things still don't add up…" Deciding someone needed to take up the position as surrogate leader, Chie turned to the subject of their new investigation. "Is this helping with your memory at all, Labrys-chan?"

She squinted, trying really hardtop find something new in herself, but she relaxed with an exasperated sigh. "Not really. I _feel _different, though, like there's something here maybe…"

"You might just be excited," Chie soothed, not wanting to get the girls hopes up too much. "We can take a look around, maybe that'll make your shadow come out."

"But what about what Teddie's feeling?" The obnoxious bear cut in.

Kanji rolled his eyes dramatically. "So what's Teddie feelin', ya dumb bear?"

"Scared." The word caught all their attention, and the sniffing from the bear instantly put Chie and Kanji on alert. "I know this world better than I know Yosuke's closet, and there's something really different right now…"

The tailor lifted his arm and smelled. "Uh, sorry Ted," he mumbled, "Forgot to shower last couple days, didn't think it was that bad-"

"It isn't Kan-chan," Teddie shook his head, "Besides for BO, Chie takes that prize-"

"Hey! I've been busy-"

"-No," he carried on oblivious, "The real problem is…" He looked over Kanji again, then Chie, and finally settled on Labrys. "You smell too clean Labby-chan."

She laughed nervously. "Didn't ya say that yesterday?"

He shook his head. "Sensei was clean person, bear-ly had a scent on him. But there still was one. You, um… You're like a black hole of scent. A complete absence of it…"

Kanji thought about walking over and getting a whiff himself, before realise how ridiculous that could be. "So? It doesn't mean anythin', she's a maid! Bleach n' stuff probably get it all offa her…"

Teddie really didn't look convinced. Labrys looked down on herself, holding up her arm while twisting and flexing her hand. "That does sound a bit weird Teddie…" She curled her fingers, individually, in unison, staring with increasing scrutiny. "Why aren't I like you guys? With memories and a family and a real, bona-fide life? How come I don't remember school at all but I can still do math? Why…"

Something felt wrong, and they didn't need Teddie's nose to know it. Labrys was continuing her lonely soliloquy, which would be fine for a girl in her situation, if she was regarding the friends in front of her at all. She was talking to her hand, herself, in an endlessly depressing monotone that didn't fit her whatsoever. This wasn't her. Something in the world was pushing her into darker and darker thoughts, deeper and deeper scrutiny. Chie and Kanji noticed the results of it together, the yellow haze pooling at their friends feet. The fog.

"… How can I be doing a full time job? I don't even know how old I am…" She paused, her glazed eyes completely missing the intense worry radiating off her two co-workers. "Why am I so different?"

"And that my cue." The experienced trio turned around, seeing two things, how the world around them had darkened and shifted, and some sort of caricature of their friend, with familiar yellow eyes. "Heya! Guess ya know who I am…"

Instinctively, the trio grouped closer, trying to shield Labrys from her doppelgänger. They weren't sure what they were expecting, but it certainly wasn't who lay in front of them. The other shadows guises were altogether more vicious, Kanji's mocking his uncertain sexuality with more than a few thrusts, Rise's doing the same to make her doubt who she was. Labrys'…

Her manner was relaxed, clad in an identical uniform, tilting her head slightly. It would have been almost cute if not for her piercing yellow eyes, or for the sly licking of her lips. "C'mon, guys," she said playfully, mirror Labrys' voice exactly whilst adding a dark undertone. "Dontcha wanna talk with this mean ol' shadow?"

She managed to sound friendly yet still keep a certain level of disturbing. The lighting didn't help. The glade was much darker now, and, as Chie noticed when she looked down at her feet, not even a glade at all anymore. The floor was cold steel, separated by rivets into separate sheets, while the world around them was a murky black, forcing them all to look to the eerie figure of Labrys shadow, cast in a bright spotlight. The spotlight highlighted the differences from their friend, with a giant glinting accessory in the shadow's hair, and thick red gloves covering her hands and forearms.

Labrys pushed through her friends, standing slightly in front of them while studying your other self. "Hmm…" She murmured. She would be lying if she said wasn't feeling any shade of uneasy, but the others had talked her through this. She was ready. "Y'know to be honest you're a bit underwhelmin'."

The double placed a hand on her chest and smiled. "Don't be so critical of yourself, you aren't that bad!"

The other three were thoroughly unnerved. Compared to their other encounters with true shadows, this was somewhat… Genial? Labrys, lacking such experience, fell right into the trap. "So we're just gonna chat a little, I understand and accept all the nasty little things I kinda don't wanna admit, and then we're all done?

"You're right!" The shadow replied brightly, with a smile more suited to a tigress than a person. "I mean, you know it all don't you, about this world, how it all works… You're the first person ever to be prepared to face your shadow, and you're gonna accept your faults with grace, humility, but most of all, gosh darned dignity, and then everything will be fixed! Oh, aren't you just _special_!"

Labrys was thrown off guard by the compliment, but its sickly sweetness was already letting her feel the rot. "What are you-"

"Well you're not." She spat stiffly. "You're an amnesiac with no history, no personality, to the point you try and take everything from TV and movies to give yourself a purpose. Who the hell are you?"

"We were hopin' you were gonna answer th-"

"And why should I?" She cast a disparaging glare over the trio behind her target. "Did you numbnuts forget how this goes? I'm her _shadow._ I reveal the true self, the horrible horrible truths behind the cogs in little old Labby-chan's head. I am _not_ some friggin' personal problem monkey."

Kanji was already tired of the shadow, their varied routines all still hitting to close to his own. "What if we say you are, huh? We'll beat it out of you!"

"Quit it ya low life, the adults are talkin'," She hushed harshly, idly rubbing the vaguely metallic appendage on her head. "Then again, maybe I should tell ya. Maybe it's boring, you got lost and took too many pills, really messed with that pretty lil' head o' yours. Maybe it's tragic, your mind couldn't cope with your parent's untimely demise, or worse, _they_ did something that broke you. On the other hand, maybe I don't know. I'm you aren't I? I can't tell you what you don't know… Can I?"

The maid's brow hardened, and she took a step forwards. "Quit playin' around. You either know or you don't, you're tellin' me or you ain't. Don't drag it out."

The monster laughed, high and shrill. "I've been waiting for the truth for two years, oh please please _please_ won't you tell me," the shadow mocked, her whine piercing the ears of her audience. "Well, no. Frankly, you haven't earned shit. But hell, I could tell you anythin' and you'd believe it."

She tried meeting those harsh yellow eyes. "I'd know if it was the truth-"

"There's your Hollywood logic going again sister; real life ain't done by a flick of a switch, and it's never gonna be as fuckin' easy as that. Doubt it matters much anyway," she shrugged, "Whatever I tell you? You'll be still denying 'til the day you die, trying to convince yourself you're a good person with all the evidence to the contrary. You dirty, pathetic, _murderer_."

"Murderer?!" her friends cried in unison. "You're lying!" Chie shouted, stepping beside her friend, "Labrys would never-"

A smirk from the shadow stopped Chie from continuing, as she turned to her right. Labrys was oh so small right now, and tremoring violently, eyes fixed on her palms, "My dream…" She whispered, before clenching her fists and sweeping her arm. "What do you know?! Tell me or I swear to god-"

"You'll what hun?" the shadow goaded gleefully. "Hit me? Call me names? You aren't like your friends, you're not tough enough. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here," she drawled, "For starters, let's look at the sad little girl you are now. " She began pacing left and right, the spotlight following her closely, illuminating debris on the floor the shadow kicked away unceremoniously. "Labrys Labrys Labrys," She tutted, "Whatever are we meant to do with you?

"I want to leave and never come back," the shadow cried suddenly, "But wait; that might not end well. I should stay in this cushy mansion and hopefully things will work themselves out! Yup, good old fashioned positivity will save the day! Just like in those movies, oh they're so wonderful! I remember this one, where the man and the woman realised they loved each other and oh, I wish that would happen to me!"

The girl's voice at this point was high and strained. "I don't really think-"

"You're a joke," she continued sternly, boring a hole into the girl with her stare. "So many fantasies, and so many opportunities, and what do you do? Diddly-shit.

"But wait, I'm sticking around until my tragic past is revealed!" She sang, reverting to her lighter tone, cutting deeper than daggers. "Once I know my past, I can finally make a future. Yup, that's what's stopping me not my shitty attitude and a cowardly steak longer than this fuckin' ponytail, not knowing my _paaaast_. Which of course has no bearing on the future, but a little detail like that won't stop me wallowing like that, no sir!"

Chie placed a caring arm on her whimpering friend's shoulder, and her shadow stuck out her tongue. "Really? You've known her for maybe a week, max. You can't pretend you really care."

"But I do," the martial artist said softly. She turned to the shadow, with a determined expression. "She's been through a lot, whether she knows it or otherwise, and we're gonna help her. Even if you don't tell us anything, we're still gonna kick your ass."

"But why? Oh," she laughed, "That's right. You don't know how she really thinks. Let me shine some light on that one.

"BAM!" A similar spotlight to her shadow-self burst into life on Labrys. Chie suddenly felt a deep burn into her skin, and lept back with a surprised yelp. She tried dragging Labrys with her, but she merely crumpled to the ground, and Chie was left to tumble to safety. "Bright, aren't they?"

The boys called out her name, while Chie focussed her anger on the shadow. "If you're hurting her-"

"Oh, she's made of tougher stuff than you think, trust me. Externally at least," she said dismissively, walking closer to the group, "Inside she's a fractured child." She began to laugh, stopping in front of Labrys' spotlight, with it taking all of Kanji's will to not take the small step and give the shadow a piece of his mind. "You know what's funny? How much she looks up to you all. The mysterious newcomers, come to shake up her life! God, she needed to get out more. That's not the even punchline though," she smiled wickedly, "Look at you all. You," she turned to Kanji, "You're still moping over a girl you never even had the balls to ask out. I thought a guy like you was supposed to be tough?

"You," she swivelled to Teddie, "she's only known you a day and she can see the major commitment issues. You're bouncin' round the place with so much freedom and you don't even know what to do with it. We'd do so much if we had that…"

Then the shadow met Chie's eyes, a wicked smile forming at the sight the two boys faltering frowns in her peripheral vision. "As for you, you're the catalyst of this whole shebang, aren't you?" The whimpering from the disabled Labrys grew louder. "You're like the big guy over there, except more extreme. Going cross-country to dodge an ex who'd skipped town two years ago? Real independent, lady. And he's still got his hooks in you. I bet if you had the choice you'd have cut ties with these two as well. Better stay friendless then keep hurting right?"

No one was prepared for being attacked by someone else's shadow, which with Chie's hot head, was not a good blend. "But I didn't," she snarled, getting closer to the yellow eyed monster, "I cared enough to bring Kanji with me, and I still talk to Naoto-"

"No one likes a friendship out of obligation," was the curt reply. "She's smart isn't she, of course she knows it. That's how it's gonna be, you always holding yourself back so nobody can get at you, and you wondering why you'll never have a friend like Yukiko again-"

"Don't." She growled. "Don't say her name."

"Still a raw nerve doll-face?" The shadow teased, she winked. "Good news for ya then, this snivelling pile of junk," she pointed at Labrys, "Is so desperate for a best friend she'll do _anything_._" _Chie recoiled at the shadow's raised eyebrow, while their tormentor sniggered. 

"Please…" Labrys coughed, trying to stand, "This… is about you and me, right? Leave them outta this…"

"But that's the point pumpkin," The shadow said proudly, "I _am _you. This isn't what I think about your fabulous new friends, this is what _you _really think. That running away makes them cowards, maybe even more than you are. And you _love _that."

"No-" Labrys stammered, muscles still straining. "That's not true…"

Their audience had seen this performance far too often to not understand the subtext. "No, don't-" Teddie tried.

"No!" Labrys yelled, her determination real, but execution unconvincing. "You're not me!"

The shadow cooed, cackling maniacally, "Aw, poor baby…" She snapped her fingers. "Now that they know what you really think, let's see if they can handle who you really are!" She suddenly lashed out, a swift chop to the back of Labrys' neck, sending the girl shrieking in pain, and sprawling across the floor. Chie and Kanji cried out and tried to tackle the shadow, but she was already dancing away, spotlight trained exactly on her strangely graceful form. "I bet you wonder why this was my form. Well," she ripped off blouse with one hand, and somehow the entire ensemble followed. "Here it is." The group gasped, Kanji and Teddie initially both turning away on instinct, but soon appreciating shadow's true form.

At first it looked like a sweater was hidden underneath her clothes, but then they saw the joints. Jutting, angular, metallic, and certainly not human. They realised what they thought was a sweater, was actually her skin. Looking down, things were only more terrifying. Her legs were now a strange design, and they were certainly a design; robotic in nature, with huge hinges on the hips. Shadows weren't human, but they usually represented one. Why… "But why am I this hideous shape?" The shadow interrupted dramatically. "I'll be honest, I don't know _why_\- neither does your friend. But she gave it to me."

Taking their eyes away from the show, they could finally come to appreciate the buzzing and hissing noise at their feet. If they looked to Labrys neck, they would have seen a small box attached to the spine, sparking intermittently. But their attention was on her wrists, both a block of red, and her legs, chunk of metal matching her perfectly matching her opposite. "What the hell…" Kanji muttered.

The spotlight prevented them from getting nearer, but Chie got to her knees for a closer look. "Have we ever seen a shadow make an illusion like this…?"

"It's not an illusion." They turned to Teddie, his furry face quietly serious. "That's… That's Labby-chan. I don't know how, but-"

"Yes," The shadow announced, "she gave me my true form. Like their true form." The shadow raised her arms, her spotlight expanded, quickly and aggressively, until the light covered the whole room in a brilliant white, causing those still conscious to shield their eyes. When their eyes adjusted and they lowered their arms, they could finally appreciate the horror laid out in front of them. They were in a chamber, of all of the same stainless steel they could see at their feet, but they weren't alone. What they thought was debris were _remains, _humanoid remains, with parts all resembling what they could see on the shadow and… Labrys, as hard as it was to accept. The worst part was the faces, most attached to the broken bodies, some less fortunate, eyes closed, the only hint of piece in the morbid scene. Until they started opening, slowly, one by one, revealing blood red eyes. "Our sisters share who we are." She announced angrily, picking up what looked to be an incredibly oversized axe from the floor. "And we are a shadow. The true self."


	15. What am I?

There was no time to question the newly metallic appendages of their friend on the floor. The other creatures were slowly rising, and the ones that had already become upright had begun their advance. "Teddie, you navigate," Chie shouted, taking up her battle stance. "I'll take the ones on the left, Kanji, you get the ones on the right."

The boys nodded, and glanced over the battlefield. Shadow Labrys seemed perfectly happy with letting her minions take the first hits, eyes gleaming with malice, axe twirling in her fingertips as if it had the weight of a feather. Meanwhile the other monsters were getting closer and closer, and their revulsion grew and grew as the damage on their bodies became more apparent. Some were missing limbs, some were filled with holes, and some were even missing their heads. That was actually a blessing in disguise, because otherwise you would see their smooth, radiant skin, their calm, kind features, completely at odds with the blazing red in their eyes. Worse still were when those faces were distorted, missing an eye, or a cheek, revealing the impossible machinery within, or gruesomely dented, a picture at odd with everything that's possible with skin and bone.

It was difficult for him to stay focussed, but Teddie tried to coordinate his two charges. "Wait for it… Wait for it…" Chie cocked up a kick, winding up her knee, while Kanji took his chair and levelled it over his head. "Now!"

They both sprang into action, Chie releasing her leg into the abdomen of the nearest foe, while Kanji slammed his chair to the floor, right on top of the sorry specimen crawling towards him. His approach was more successful, a crunching sound telling him he at least did some damage as he lifted the weapon and swung it towards his next target. A sharp pain in Chie's foot however reminded her these foes were much tougher than a punching bag, though it caused the monster to stumble, giving her some valuable seconds to rethink her approach. _If I can't do that… _She racked her brains for a better technique, and a sideways glance at Kanji gave her the answer. She went low, sweeping her leg at the feet of the still stumbling robot. Extending to her full height, she lifted her right leg almost perpendicular to the floor, and drove her heel down into the creepy fiend's nose. It squirmed for a few moments, then lay still, and Chie couldn't help but shake a feeling of, somehow, _guilt_. These weren't like any of the other shadows. They were made of metal, but were somehow so much more human.

"Chie-chan behind you!" Too little too late, and she turned just in time to see a one-armed minion tackle her to the ground. She gasped, the wind knock out of her, yet still screamed breathlessly when it started pounding her chest with an incredibly strong hand.

Fortunately her agony was short lived, a crying Kanji shoulder tackling the beast off his friends' body, with a swift stomp to put it out of commission. "Shit," he said, holding a hand over her, "You okay?"

"Okay enough," she wheezed, trying to smile as she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. "Thanks partner."

"Right side, right side!" Teddie cried frantically. Kanji facing the wrong way, Chie pushed him aside and held up her hand. She felt the rush of battle, her emotions, her frustrations, and channelled it all into an ethereal blue card.

"Persona!"

Suzuka Gongen answered her call instantly, the black and white warrior towering over the battlefield with a precisely red double ended sword. A swipe of her blade sending the advancing mass back, and it was a mass, teeming, as if the remnants of machine they had first laid eyes on multiplied immeasurably. She frantically summoned her again, a second swing, and again, sending a mighty fist down from above. It was, forceful, perhaps, but not very effective. They were sent back a few yards, but they only looked more aggressive. The attacks exhausted her, and Chie stumbled, into the supportive arms of Kanji. "Ted, you got some healin' right?"

"But Kanji I'm navigating-"

"Priorities Ted," he snapped, pointing out the army of enemies to his blue furred friend, "don't think coordinating is our strong point anyway."

Nodding, he bounced over to the pair of them, batting away a couple of stragglers to reach his patient. "Kamui, get out here!" The frankly cartoon looking ball of metal materialised into life with a happy little spin, emitting a wave of blissful energy that allowed Chie's eyes to flutter open. "You okay Chie-chan?"

"Moron…" She muttered.

"Rude!" Teddie huffed, turning his back on her.

"Not you!" She said in rushed fashion. She wriggled out of Kanji's arms, and shoved him in front of the mob. "Get 'em!"

He looked over his shoulder, confused. "Wait, why me?"

"They're made of _metal, _moronji," she answered, running a hand down her face. "What does your persona do?" He stared at her dumbly while she made the note the slap him after this was all over. "Zap them, they're getting closer!"

_Oh yeah, _he remembered, _that's my thing. _He looked back to the enemies before him. "Get fryin' Rokuten Moah!" A colossal lightning bolt was sent into the group, not only sent into the shadows, but between them, lightning arcing between them in bright white flashes, with some disconcerting pops and fizzling thrown into the cacophony of sound.

But what was really unsettling was when Chie shielded her eyes and looked down to the floor, being reminded what they were standing on was also metal. Eyes widening, she tried to warn the boys. "Guy's we-"

She never got the chance. The electricity raced underneath them, and Chie scrunched her eyes closed, waiting for the pain which… actually never came. Opening her eyes, she saw Kanji still standing, looking down at his own feet. "Huh," he noted, "Rubber soles…"

"Why wasn't Teddie given any," a frazzled voice murmured, before a crash on the ground. The active pair turned around to see their friend laid out on the floor, fur standing all up on end, with the horrible smell of burning in the air.

"Teddie!" They cried, scampering over their friend. Chie grabbed his satchel, looking for the first aid kit. "C'mon where are you…"

A harsh laugh echoed through the chamber. "Look! Look at what you did!" Kanji turned, Chie too busy trying to help Teddie, to see the pile of parts and rubble, some of the minions having even melted at the edges. It was a slight relief to know they were all taken down, but the sight of some of their still intact faces, and some twitching in the mass, was more than enough to quench that. "You're as bad as her," Shadow Labrys decided, "What did they ever do to you? What did I ever do to you?"

"The hell are you talkin' about," Kanji cried to her, "Look at what you did to Labrys!"

"I keep tellin' you, _I _didn't do it," she replied hotly, "_You're_ the ones that brought her here. She could have stayed, safe in ignorance. She could have been _happy,_ if it wasn't for you schmucks!"

"Oh, screw this," he muttered, "Maoh, fry her ass too!"

His optimistic side was hoping for the same flurry of sparks and light as last time. What actually happened was anticlimactic. The shadow simply raised her ginormous axe to the air, which caught the bolt, flowing into the metal and leaving its owner completely unharmed. "Oops," she mocked with a wink, "My turn."

She pounced, leaping across the chamber, winding back her axe. Reaching Kanji, she let go with a swing, Chie seeing some sort of jet trail in its wake, and with him having no chance to dodge, he was sent flying, metres and metres through the air.

"Kanji!" His partner yelled as he skidded and rolled to a stop on the harsh cold floor. "You alright?"

He coughed, getting up onto one knee and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He smirked at the trail of red left on his hand. "You wanna fight huh?" He muttered lowly, before calling to Chie. "You get Ted all better, I got this for now." He got to his feet, grabbing the chair that had landed beside him. Raising it over his head, he charged towards to smug looking shadow with a fierce battle cry.

Chie nodded, returning to her fervent search through the satchel. It took too many agonising moments, with the horrible mixture of Teddie's whimpering and the clashing and banging of Kanji's fight underlining the severity of the situation, but eventually she found the first aid kit. Sighing in relief, she opened the box, and as usual in the TV world, it inexplicably folded into itself in a burst of soothing light, settling on her injured friend, whose eyes suddenly snapped open. "Ted?"

"Grr," he growled, rolling himself to his feet. "Lemme at 'er!" His bravado died when they both saw Kanji's situation. He was giving the battle his all, looking for openings, and swinging his chair wherever he could. The shadow's axe gave too much coverage however; he could barely get close, and every dodge he made was too close a call. Fortunately when these calls were too close his persona materialised, the huge red beast taking the hit every time, but it was becoming fainter every time, and its owner was beginning to look majorly drained.

"We gotta help him," Chie decided, her and Teddie beginning a mad scrambling over to the battle. "Kanji, get outta there!" Thankfully he obeyed the order, rolling out of the way of a particularly nasty axe swing. Chie saw what the trail from the axe was, smoke, from rockets she realised the shadow used to make her swings even more powerful. _Man, she's nasty,_ the martial artist thought bitterly. "You go one side, I go the other, alright Ted?"

He crossed his arms, claws glistening dangerously. "Yes Ma'am!"

"Oh you kids," the shadow grinned, hoisting the axe on her shoulder. "The shadows you fought before were those from kids, or just delusional losers." She gripped the handle tighter. "I'm the shadow of a bona-fide killer." The jets turned on, Chie and Teddie for a second transfixed by their roar. "I'm so much more dangerous."

Teddie took the admittedly smarter move of hopping aside the attack, but Chie's flashier instincts, honed by years of kung-fu movies, took her to trying to jump over the strike. It luckily worked, but barely, and she tried to follow up with a roll into a kick to the shadow's knees. She did buckle, but her response was to grab her attacker by the throat, holding her high in the air. "You think you got a chance, huh?" She tossed the girl away, Teddie crying out, and she landed in a heap much like Kanji earlier.

Kanji ran over to help, but she was already getting to her feet, and grumbling all the while. They both looked back to the shadow, who was having some fun stalking Teddie, who was running away and screaming in comedic fashion. "Shit, whadda we do?"

"The axe," she replied immediately. "We get that away from her, we can pound her like we did the other ones."

It was the only thing they could do, but Kanji couldn't see how it was possible. _I mean, just look at how big that thing is, _he thought, _how the hell do why pry that away when she's so strong?_ "Right, uh, how the hell do we do that?"

She thought hard, scrunching her eyes closed, snapping her fingers what inspiration struck her. "I got an idea…"

Teddie meanwhile was still running for his life. It wasn't that he was a coward, not at all, but she just kept swinging, and there was no other ways for him to go then just away from that deadly axe. "You're not bear-y nice, you know that?"

"Ugh," the shadow grimaced, preparing another shot with her axe, "just shut up and stand still-"

"Do it!"

"What?" The pair of both attacker and aggressor turned to the source of the strange command. Chie and Kanji were running towards them, determined and ready.

The distraction was just what they wanted. Shadow Labrys had wound up her axe, and at this point the jets were on full power, and she had no choice but to release. Teddie yelped and began his dodge, while Kanji and Chie held up their hands and cried "Persona!"

Rokuten Moah was summoned at the top of the axe, taking the head and pulling it even faster in its swing. Suzuka Gongen meanwhile took her place at the hilt, twisting it in tune with the arc of the weapon. Shadow Labrys yelped, surprised at the sudden approach, and lost her grip on the weapon, sending it spinning across the room.

She huffed and bent her knees, preparing to leap over to her axe, but a chair to the face, followed by a full body spear out of nowhere from Kanji soon put that to bed. "Ted," Chie ordered, "Get over to the axe and make sure she can't get to it. Heal us while you're at it, okay?" He didn't even have to nod, and just started scampering to the imposing instrument of death. Chie wasted no time in manoeuvring to the downed shadow, and let off as many stomps as she could, Kanji already pounding his fists onto the beast's torso.

They felt for the first time in the fight that they were actually doing damage, but all it took for Shadow Labrys to get back to her feet was a kick up, her powerful body shrugging off the two persona-users incredibly easily. She scoured the battlefield for her precious weapon, but Teddie, even with all its weight, used his persona to help carry the weight, and his constant moving meant it took her too long to find the right angle to strike. Kanji and Chie used this time to relaunch their assault, punching and shoving and kicking, forcing the shadow to forgo retrieving her weapon for the time being.

She swung an elbow wildly behind her, hitting Chie square in the ribs, sending her stumbling back. Kanji landed a punch square on the shadow's cheek, and sent a knee into its stomach for good measure. But the hollow clang upon the hit reminded him that she was made of metal, as the following feeling of a soft blow into his solar plexus did that they were made of softer stuff, as his body sent him bending over on reflex. The uppercut afterwards put him off his feet and flat on his back. The pain should have been blinding, but a glow in his peripheral vision told him Teddie had timed his healing spell almost perfectly.

At this point, a recovered Chie did not want to fight pretty. She reached out, yanking the shadow's ponytail in an attempt to pull them to the ground. It cried in pain, surprisingly enough, but didn't go down, instead scraping a knee down the brunette's shin, the pain of the action causing her to release her target.

Kanji watched this with the usual worry he held for his friends in battle, but seeing Teddie in the background dancing reminded him that if Shadow Labrys didn't have the axe anymore, then…

"Chie, push her away!" She didn't question the order as much as the shadow couldn't follow it, and when she was a safe enough distance away, Kanji closed his fist around the card in his hand. "Ziodyne!"

This time Teddie was far enough away for the shock to be a mere wave of static. The shadow took the full force of the bolt, coursing through its frame, head to toe, convulsing erratically.

Kanji had no mercy. "Again!"

Another bolt was sent, burning through the shadow's mechanical body.

"Again!"

A third, and now her pupils vibrated at a disturbing frequency.

"A…Again!"

The fourth bolt was all his persona had left, Kanji being sent to his knees. The shadow fared worse, motionless like a statue, before falling like a plank of wood, face down on the floor. Chie stood over the body as her was recovering. "Is…" He panted. "Is she done?"

Suddenly her legs were swept from underneath, and Shadow Labrys leapt from her position, straddling her torso with a vicious, hateful scream. The hits came to her side, her chest, her face, far too fast for her to really register, blurring into a blinding pain. Kanji was too drained to do anything, Teddie too far away. It took every last inch of her willpower, but she was finally able to call on her persona, who pulled off the raging shadow, slamming her to the ground with a heavy thunk.

So the three of them lay, incapacitated, the two girl twitching slightly on the floor. They couldn't move, couldn't think, and in Chie's case, breathe. This was soon solved by another wave of healing energy, courtesy of Teddie, but as she lifted her back, slowly, gingerly, she saw the bear slump down to his rump. "I'm all out…" He whimpered, eyes widening when he saw Chie wasn't the only one rising.

Shadow Labrys was frothing, raging. The fight wasn't over yet, and Chie couldn't finish it alone. Her partner was still down, and she needed to get him up. Knowing it was the last of her spiritual energy, Chie, with some degree of reluctance, called upon her persona. She materialised over the mechanical monster, spinning her blades at a fantastic speed, beating the shadow back down to the floor.

Chie moved over to her partner on his knees, and gripped his shoulder tight. "C'mon," she tried, dragging him upwards, "We need to end this."

"My persona's out of juice," he muttered emptily as he stumbled to his feet, "You?"

She looked over to Suzuka Gongen, her form already fizzling. "Just about. Same story with Ted."

Kanji cracked his neck, using a rough hand to try and iron out the kinks. "Shit…" He shook his head. "We really got a shot?"

"She's on the ropes," she said, in a tone she hoped was convincing. All of a sudden, she felt the connection to her persona break, and glanced to see the shadow, completely alone, and entirely dangerous. "It's now or never," she sighed.

Kanji exhaled, and readied his chair. "Let's get this over with."

They shifted up to the highest gears they could manage, speeding back over to the shadow and trying to land as many hits they could while it was on the ground. They caused marks, even dents in some places, but much like before, they were eventually shrugged off, and the Shadow Labrys was standing tall, ready to do damage. Which she did, harshly, with real cold, convincing, execution. Chie and Kanji were spending more time blocking and dodging during this assault, faced with the reality that if they fell now, there was no magic to save them, and nothing in the bag…

_The bag, _Chie thought suddenly, as a kick racked through her hips. "Arrgh!" She cried, trying to focus on avoiding the next blow. "Teddie, throw us something!"

"Buh?" The dazed bear questioned. He'd already resigned their fates to an eternity in this cold, dark place. He wondered if there would be a shrine commemorated to him back in Inaba. "Whaddya want?"

"Something!" Chie yelled, a heavy punch to her shoulder numbing her arm.

"Anything!" Kanji agreed loudly, as his own arm was wrenched by a sharp pull by their inordinately strong foe.

Teddie rifled through the bag, taking the first things that reached his two paws. "Uh, here, here!"

The two objects were thrown through the air, towards the increasingly bloody brawl. They were identical, and bright red. Kanji idly remembered buying them as his nose was burst by a violent headbutt. Some energy drink brand he'd never seen in Inaba, which he'd grabbed seeing as other cans had served them well during the investigation.

They didn't feel it as the cans exploded into a burst of sparkles, red sparkles, which showered over their bodies and into their vision. _Red, _they thought, dizzied with pain, _now how is this familiar?_

Kanji clumsily tried to push away the shadows next punch. What surprised him was that it _worked_. Really worked- her fist missed his face, and in fact her whole body was twisted out of angle. Not one to overthink these things, or even go as high as underthinking for that matter, he wound back his arm and went straight for what he hoped was a robo-kidney. A sickening crunch told him he'd done a surprising amount of damage, as the shadow screamed.

"You're enraged," Teddie announced, "You can go all out on her, but remember, bear up some defences or you're in for a nasty hit!"

His warnings went unheeded, and in the end, weren't needed. During all their exploits in the TV world, Chie and Kanji had been subjected to a wide variety of strange conditions and ailments, and secretly, whenever they found themselves enraged, they always were slightly pissed off when someone cast a spell to put them out of it. They were the heavy hitters, and the boost they got made their job so much quicker.

So, smiling like madmen, and completely on autopilot, they went to town, hitting and stomping, bashing and crashing, yelling and crying. Teddie couldn't see them from the amount of dust they kicked up, but the sounds, while horrible, told him they had the upper hand. When everything settled, there were just his friends, breathing heavily, standing over the now defeated shadow. "Hooray!" he cheered, bouncing to the pair, "That was a bear-ly close call!"

His enthusiasm faded when he saw the shadow on the floor. Scuffed, dented in places, and with an arm jerked completely out of place, he almost felt sympathy for it. "Yeah…" Chie panted, recovering from the cloud of anger that powered their victory. "Wait," she said suddenly, "Labrys!"

Their own health a trivial concern, the trio ran towards their friend, still limp and helpless atop the steel floor. As they did, the spotlight on top of her dimmed, and eventually fizzled out with their arrival. "Labby-chan," Teddie cried, "Are you okay?"

"Urrrgn," she murmured, her eyelids fluttering open. She gripped her head. "What…?"

"It's okay Labrys," Kanji said, holding out his hand, "We beat her. We're alright."

She took it, and with shaking metallic legs, which everyone still couldn't process weren't human, steadied herself onto her feet. She almost collapsed again at the sight of her hands. "Ahh! What did she-"

"It wasn't her, Labby-chan," Teddie said softly, "That's you. The real you."

She was understandably confused, looking from her hands to the bear, and yelping at the sight of her legs during the in between. "Augh! But, this can't be possible…"

"Probably not," Chie said hesitantly, "but if Teddie says it's you, then it's you."

Cautiously, the maid wrapped her knuckles against each other, wincing at the clunk of the metal against metal. She tried pulling on her left hand as if it was a glove, but when that failed, her arms slumped, and she stared at the floor. "What… What the hell am I?" She raised her head, staring across the room, at the wreckage and destruction from the battle. "What happened? Did she hurt you guys?"

"Not too badly," Kanji winced, nursing a bruise on his chest.

She gasped in awe. "What's the big pile over there?"

"She had, uh, 'help'," the tailor explained, "Said they were your sisters or something weird…"

"Sisters?!" Labrys exclaimed, starting towards the lone figure on the deck. "Where is she, I need answers!"

"I know, I know," Chie said quietly, in a manner that stopped her friend dead in her tracks, "But shadows tell the truth. It said she didn't know about your past, and she won't."

"No she doesn't," she spluttered, "she was lying! I don't think you guys are pitiful or nuthin', not at-"

"Its fine," Chie shushed her, with a friendly smile, "You can't deny how you really feel, it only gives her power. And you're right in a way," she continued, resting a hand on her shoulder, "We came along and started complaining about everything in our lives, in our pasts. You can't be one-hundred percent empathetic, and you're allowed to not completely understand. The important part is that you were there for us. Now we're here for you."

Labrys tried to smile back, but it was faltering, a mighty weight pressing on her mind. "B-but she said I was a murderer," the girl said softly, tears of shock and denial streaking her cheeks, "Does that mean that was true as well?"

An uneasy silence hung in the air. There wasn't anything immediately soothing they could say, what could they? "That ain't the Labrys we know." Kanji said firmly.

She looked up to him. "Huh?"

"Maybe you were a completely different person before you lost your memories. Maybe not. Who cares?" He decided, with a simple nod. "We know ya now and we care about ya. Whatever happened before, not really our problem."

Teddie and Chie nodded too, and the maid sniffed, a smile creasing her cheek. "I can't believe you guys would…" She looked beyond the group. "And you…" They all turned around. Labrys' shadow had joined them apparently, limping slightly, face lacking all the main and malice that it had been filled with earlier. "You were right again, weren't you? About no easy way out, no answers?"

The shadow nodded.

"And you can't really tell me anything about myself?"

The shadow shook her head.

"Alright." She took weak, careful steps towards her shadow, comforted by her friend's closeness, that they would catch her if she fell. "You're right about everything. You're right about me bein' a coward; I could've pushed to get off the rock, even for day, but I couldn't do it. I bought every stinkin' book and DVD I could so I could have a story without makin' one for myself. I made up an excuse, that I couldn't leave 'cus I needed to learn about my past, only so I could avoid havin' a future.

"An' how I feel about you guys," she addressed everyone now, "This ain't nice of me but… I guess I just don't understand. I can't understand, about the shit you went through, your struggles. All I keep comin' back to is that you need a little more backbone and grit and it would've been easy. Sorry 'bout that. I hope one day I will've lived enough for you to throw that back in my face…

"Then there's… The other stuff," she said flatly, rubbing the visor she could now feel on her crown. "You don't know anything. I don't know anything. But I can definitely admit some things felt wrong, like when I tried jogging. Apparently the time I netted round the island was somethin' like the top fifty, but I shrugged it off. Same as when the other maids were surprised when I lifted the washer all by myself when it was delivered.

"I'm not human," she accepted, "But I ain't no murderer. I was, but not anymore, and now I'm gonna put that all behind me. I'm gonna be whatever Labrys ends up becoming, not the one I used to be."

Her shadow smiled, and in a burst of blue, rose into a glimpse of something more, an iron woman, elegant and strong, which onlookers thought could be easily taken to be Labrys' mother. "Ariadne," she whispered, before collapsing to the floor.

She never made it down, Kanji and Chie grabbing her from both sides, keeping her upright. "Woah there," Chie said, "gotta take it easy now, doing this really tires you out…"

They gripped the girl tight as the four of them went looking for the exit, which was eventually found as a subtle aberration in the panelling. It was pushed open to something wonderful, fresh air, not the stale hallow thing they had been breathing inside. The grass and the trees were familiar; this was the clearing they had first ventured into, now bathed in the warm orange glow of the sunset. The TV they had used as the portal lay far a couple hundred metres away as they remembered.

"So, what am I?" Labrys wondered to herself, still looking somewhat defeated.

Teddie hopped in front of her. "You're you," he proudly announced, "Yup, that's what you are!"

She chuckled. "Now what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you decide for yourself who you are," Chie said, as they stopped in front of the TV. "And you need to start making these decisions now."

Labrys tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Chie racked her brains, trying to come up with a way to word her worries without being insensitive. "Well, I mean, uh…" She gave up. "Look, you're not human, and if you're anything like the shadows in there, you're, well, kinda…"

"A robot?" Kanji butted in, still not believing what he was having to explain.

The maid nodded her head, considering this like one would a menu at a fancy restaurant. "Uh-huh. Makes sense, with the metal an' all. Still feel pretty human though…"

"Like me then!" Teddie said happily. "Hmm, I wonder if you guys would've made friends with me if I was a robot…"

"We made friends with her," Chie pointed out. "Anyway, point is, if you're a… Robot, someone had to have made you. Which means, considering where you live…"

"Means it was probably Mitsuru…" Labrys finished for her. She scrunched her eyes closed. "Man, this is some weird ass shit for a girl to be gettin' her head around. So Mitsuru's my mom? Or would that be Fuuka…"

"I don't know," the brunette sighed, "but it's probably even more complicated than that. We know, don't ask me how, that the Kirijo group has been quietly researching shadows, maybe for years."

"Wow," she whistled, "That can't be a coincidence."

"Exactly," Kanji gruffly agreed, "So the point is, if they didn't want you to know, why they are keeping you there?"

Chie nodded. "You have two choices, A, we confront them and ask what this all means, or B, we use this world to leave. Anywhere we want, Teddie'll take us."

Plan B sounded excellent to the round fuzzy bear. "Pick B, pick B! You guys can join me on my globetrotting adventures! Sun, sea, and babes, as far as the eye can see!"

"As tempting as that sounds," Labrys laughed. She stopped suddenly, with a thoughtful expression on her face. "You know what, screw it. I'm done trying to work out everything strange around here. Let's go. I have a whole life left for me to lead, and I've been wasting it for far too long."

"Whoopee!" Teddie cheered, enveloping the other three into a huge hug. "We're gonna have so much fun, I think I might explode!"

His enthusiasm was infection, and soon everybody was wearing a great big smile. "Hold your horses kid," Kanji laughed, cuffing the dancing bear gently, "we still gotta grab our stuff."

"An' I wanna leave Fuuka a note," Labrys said solemnly. "She was nice to me. I don't care if it was an act or whatever, I gotta say goodbye."

"We gotta do it quickly, Fuuka knew something was up," Chie said carefully, "I'd say we take ten minutes then get out. Teddie, you help Labrys get her stuff. Kanji and I are pretty packed already."

"Aye sir!" The bear saluted, springing through the TV screen and into the real world, not wanting to wait a second before starting this new adventure with his friends.

"I'll go grab him before he breaks something," Kanji said in an upbeat manner, following his excitable friend through the portal.

Chie was about to follow him, until she heard two words. "Thank you."

The martial artist shook her head. "We're friends, there's no need to thank any of us. We're here for you."

"I'm here for you guys too," Labrys agreed, feeling happier, and more tired, than she could ever remember being. So the two friends stepped, together, through the portal, for a quick diversion before the start of their new lives…

Cut short, as when they tumbled onto the meeting room carpet, they were welcomed by Fuuka and Mitsuru, guns holstered to their sides, and a sharp looking rapier keeping Kanji and Teddie in their place. They gasped at the sight of Labrys, her true nature apparent for all to see. No one was particularly sure which girl was broke the silence with what was said next.

"I think we need an explanation."

* * *

AN- Thanks for reading so far! Any criticisms, or things you want to talk about, leave a review! One more chapter, which should round things off before I take a break on this to work on something original. See you then! - _**WN**_


	16. Question & Answer

They were all frozen. The group's weapons were no match for a sword, and the guns topped that with an icing of cyanide. Teddie's claws may have stood a chance, but in his position lowering with head would send the tip of the rapier into his precious nose. "You guys were right," Labrys said quietly, "This is a set-up! You two knew about all this," she gestured to herself, "and ya kept it from me."

"Labrys it's not what you think-" Fuuka piped up.

"I asked for an explanation," Mitsuru cut in coolly. "You emerged from this television set, how-"

"Maybe we don't owe you one." Chie's voice was impetuous, but careful. Kanji was close enough to their redheaded boss, and Fuuka was shaking so hard her draw probably wouldn't be up to scratch. Maybe if they…

"Mitsuru," Fuuka said, averting her eyes from their opposites, "This isn't the right approach. It never was," she whispered, "was it?"

She turned to her old dorm mate, and lowered her weapon. "No, perhaps not." She addressed to group in front of her, the two boys still flinching. "I'm sorry, for everything. We have been deceiving you all, but if you-"

"And that makes it all okay?!" Chie snapped, storming over to the much taller woman. "We find out you've been lying to us, and to her for god knows how long, and now you think sorry'll cut it?"

"Of course not, but if you'll allow us to explain-"

"Hell no!" Kanji rose up, still taller than Mitsuru in heels, and began pointing fingers. "You point a sword at us, an' we ain't talkin'. We're leaving, right guys?"

Eyes turning to Labrys however, he saw the conflict rippling over her frown. She still had some loyalty those two, probably the only people she could call friend in the only life she had known. She wanted to at least hear them out. "What do you know?"

"Everything you'd want to know," Fuuka replied, still having trouble raising her head and facing them.

"First however," Mitsuru said, "I would like to tell you about us."

"We don't care about you," Chie grunted, slightly wishing Labrys chose to leave this all behind. "We care about her."

"I know we don't deserve this from you," she admitted, "from your point of view, we're shadowy puppeteers, with nefarious purpose and dark intentions. But if you would allow me, knowing the context of our actions would be beneficial when making your judgements."

"To you sure," muttered Chie, but she knew Labrys was rooted to the spot on her right, and there was no chance of them leaving. "Fine. But take off your guns, slowly."

"Gun?" Mitsuru repeated, soon looking down to the holster on her leg, and smiling. "Ah, yes. These aren't your usual firearms you see…" Carefully, but still alarming the younger group, she smoothly took the gun into her hand, raised the barrel to her temple, and fired.

They all looked away, but instead of a bang, and whatever sickening noise they expected to from a violent suicide, they heard a familiar sound, and felt a familiar aura. They gasped when they saw the form in full. An elegant warrior, clad in dark armour, looking as graceful and dangerous as the woman who summoned her. "You're a persona user!?" Teddie exclaimed, watching as it faded into blue, and then nothing.

"As you all are. I-" she winced with their shock, "I was monitoring you all in your short time here, although Artemisia, my own persona, and Fuuka's, Juno; They both have scanning capabilities that alerted us both to your potential when the two of you arrived, and your friend more recently. And I now feel yours too, Labrys. It has been released from its shackles…"

"Shackles?" Labrys questioned, it being all she could do at this point. "Wait a minute, Fuuka, you have a persona too? What's with the guns anyway?"

"I do," she nodded. Like her boss, she put her gun to her temple, though with noticeably less poise, and fired. Suddenly, she was enveloped in a transparent orb, protected by a woman above, holding out her arms as if receiving a guest. "These are evokers. They allow us to achieve the right mental state to summon our personas."

Teddie scratched his head, watching Fuuka's persona fade away. "So, um, if you guys faced your shadows and turned them into personas, why dontcha know about the TV world? And why do you have to use those evoker thingies?"

"These are questions we would like to put to you," Mitsuru countered, obviously interested, "this TV world sounds fascinating."

It was so hard to pick up on her subtle manipulation of the conversation, but the police academy had taught Chie to be aware when things weren't going fast enough. "Hey, don't twist this around, you're talking first!"

Her curiosity was gone, replaced with an air of sadness, and maybe, regret? "Ah, yes, I apologise. Our personas were obtained through our battle with shadows, after which we used the evokers to draw them out."

"But," Kanji started, "If you've never been in the TV, where were the shadows?"

"Tatsumi Port Island."

"Kanji, we've been there, on that trip remember?" Then Chie realised the other implication of that. "There were shadows in the real world?"

"Yes and no," Fuuka clarified carefully, "They were in the city, but only during the dark hour."

"The dark hour?" The group repeated.

"The hidden hour between one day and the next, between the first stroke of midnight, and the last, where-" Mitsuru began, before stopping herself. She took one of the many seats in the meeting room, and Fuuka did the same. "We're getting slightly ahead of ourselves. It began with my grandfather. Kouetsu Kirijo was a man obsessed with power, the influence and stature of being the CEO of the Kirijo group not being enough for him. To that end, he sought to harvest a dark energy not completely understood to this day, that of shadows."

"But," Kanji butted in, "How'd they do that without the TV? Hell, how was he gonna do that at all?"

"Kanji," Fuuka said gently, "this TV world of yours is not the only place that shadows call home. I'm sure this might sound frightening to you, but shadows do appear in this world as well."

A shiver burst across Chie's skin. The idea of walking down a street at night, and the shadows of the sidewalk suddenly moving, morphing. "I kinda wish I didn't hear that…"

"They're never usually truly dangerous," the scientist reassured shakily. "Most of the at least… As for your second question, we don't really know how he planned to use them."

"We destroyed every record of the experiments," Mitsuru said curtly. "The ones that survived the explosion at least."

"Explosion?" Labrys asked.

"Yes; my grandfather's obsession eventually went too far. There was an accident at their facility on Tatsumi Port Island, killing him and many of his researchers, and releasing twelve grand shadows, beings of incredible power. It also created the dark hour, which was when they posed a danger to humanity."

"Think of it as the exact stroke of midnight, but lasting sixty minutes," Fuuka said, "A hidden hour between days, that only persona-users could experience."

The younger group looked at each other, sharing expressions of disbelief. "Even I know that's impossible…" Labrys muttered.

"I can assure you, the experience was quite real." The redhead brushed her hair back, the green hue and coffins littering the streets being quite unforgettable. "With the dark hour came something else. So any of you recall the news reports on apathy syndrome?" Chie and Kanji nodded hesitantly, remembering the flurry of coverage, but Labrys and Teddie were both oblivious.

"In simple terms," Fuuka explained, "it was a dangerous affliction that spread through the population of the city, and it was linked to the dark hour. Data recovered from the explosion suggested that the defeat of these grand shadows would eliminate the dark hour, and cure apathy syndrome, saving a lot of lives."

"The new management of the group, led by my father, felt responsible. So he set up a task force, S.E.E.S., to combat the threat." She held up the barrel of the evoker. The device was much the same as Fuuka's, as Kanji knew from his inadvertent snooping; polished to perfection, yet still showing the scars of battle.

"'Special Extracurricular Execution Squad.'" Fuuka coughed in response to the strange looks she was getting. "If you were wondering…"

"Wait a sec," Chie started, "Extracurricular? And when all the apathy syndrome stuff was on the news, you must have been-"

"In high school." Mitsuru finished for her. "We both were. I had been leading S.E.E.S. for years up to that point, fighting any shadows that could threaten the city during the dark hour. It was only during my senior year we learned of the grand shadows, and Fuuka entered the fold."

"We created a whole group of us," she continued, "all sorts of people to joined, and we even defeated the 12 grand shadows…"

"Then we found out that we were betrayed," Mitsuru said bitterly, eyes still narrowing at the very thought of it. "The grand shadows were the only thing holding back the culmination of something far more dangerous: Nyx."

"Death itself," Fuuka intoned, putting hairs on the other side of the room standing up on end. "The real cause of the apathy syndrome. She wanted to bring about the fall, which was nothing less than the end of all life." She smiled shakily. "I know this all sounds very dramatic, but that was the responsibility we held."

The CEO sighed, composure cracking from the sheer weight of her past burden. "It was a miracle we prevailed, but it came with considerable losses… We lost our leader and an old friend during that year, two of the best men I'll ever know…"

A sombre silence fell, but Chie had a burning question. "Um, not to be rude," she said, still too angry at the elder pair to be particularly apologetic, "but I thought you were the leader."

"I was," she shrugged, "Until that year, when circumstances put real control beyond my grasp. A transfer student joined the team, with the remarkable ability to use multiple personas. His adaptability best suited him to lead the group, and that, along with his kindness, bravery, and sacrifice, is what truly saved the world from the fall."

A story eerily recognisable to Chie and Kanji, but a sharp look from the former told the tailor he should keep his mouth shut. "So you two are heroes, that's all cool and all, but you're still not telling us what you put Labrys through! Are we supposed to be sympathetic or something now?"

"I just wanted to illustrate that we've fought these battles, and-"

"And given the choice," Fuuka uncharacteristically cut in, "We would not wish it upon anyone. Even now, in our roles as Shadow Operatives, it's far too much work, and we still feel so much pain…"

"We-" Mitsuru bowed her head. "I, wanted to avoid you getting involved Labrys. By the time we found you, there was no real need for your service…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Service? For what?"

"You're an anti-shadow suppression weapon." Fuuka said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Fifth generation, unit number oh-three-one. You were created by the Kirijo group, after the accident on Tatsumi Port Island, with the purpose of protecting humanity from shadows."

"Awesome!" Her gleefulness faded. "Wait… I'm number thirty one? What about…" She remembered the TV. Her shadow, who called her a murderer, and the army, who she called her sisters. "Oh no…"

Pained, Fuuka shuffled towards the android and laid a careful hand on her shoulder. "It was part of the development process. Models-"

"I ain't no stinkin' model!" Labrys snapped, fists relaxing almost as fast as they came together. "Sorry. Still kinda processing the robot thing. Snrk," she snickered, much everyone's bemusement, "Computer joke."

It was enough to make Fuuka smile as she apologised. "I'm sorry. Your, um, unit line?" She looked to Labrys for approval, the girl casually waving off her concerns. "You were all outfitted with a plume of dusk, a crystal which we still don't really understand. It's what gives you a personality Labrys, it's what makes you human, what made you all human." The researcher sighed. "Each of you were created with improvements over the last, and you, the final prototype, would then would do battle to determine which design was superior. You had no choice…"

"That's… That's evil!" Kanji roared, slicing his arm across the air. "You made 'em all thinkin' and feelin', then you killed 'em, just like that?"

"Of course we didn't," Mitsuru said firmly, "Labrys was created fourteen years ago, we were mere children." She crossed her arms and gripped her elbows tightly, looking more like a girl than a woman than Labrys could ever remember seeing. "My entire tenure as CEO has been about putting right the wrongs of my forefathers. Labrys was found in storage, hidden behind a maze of careful bureaucracy. Fuuka and I both discussed the ethics of awakening you…"

"You escaped," Fukka elaborated. "You were too strong for the security countermeasures to contain you. You were embedded with a larger plume of dusk than the others, and with that greater capacity to feel, you were the first to realise that what they were making you do was wrong." Chie wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Fuuka smile at that. "You didn't get far. The facility was actually here on a remote part of this island, and with nowhere to go, you were quickly recaptured. Your spirit caused the project to be deemed a failure, and they locked you away in secrecy, trying to cover all evidence of your existence to the authorities."

"We can barely decide on the rules on creating biological life," Mitsuru said, "Those like you, you would create far too many complications. When you were discovered, we were conflicted. To live with your pain seemed unfair, but to deny you a chance at life was also wrong. Then I came up with a third option…"

"Erasing her memories and making her believe she was human," Teddie finished, in clear awe of his friend's story.

"The concealment device is state of the art," the CEO continued, "a multi-billion yen investment we made specifically made for you."

Chie made no effort to hide the rolling of her eyes. _How __**generous**__ of you. _What really annoyed her was that she could tell Labrys was buying into it. "It's still rather unpredictable however," Fuuka admitted, "The only way to ensure its complete cooperation would be for the wearer to know its quirks precisely, which was counter-intuitive in this case."

"So you never let her leave the island…" Kanji muttered. He hated himself for it, but he sort of understood their point of view.

Chie had no such compassion. "That's your excuse? She deserved to know the truth!"

Her tone had a bite Mitsuru wasn't accustomed to, and Labrys didn't much appreciate it either. "Chie-chan, please…"

The eldest in the room had already been riled however. "I know now what we did was wrong. If you could offer us the choice, to avoid Labrys' discovering now after a long deception, we'd take it, but for now we can't erase what we did. So now we offer her a choice." She turned to her, with eyes hard as steel. "Labrys, will you join us, the shadow operatives, and help keep the world safe?"

Chie stepped closer to her friend, but this time not speaking for her. The android frowned. "Shadow operatives… You mentioned that before, is it like the sequel to that S.E.E.S. thingie?"

"Yes, in a way," Fuuka admitted. "The shadow operatives are a government task force, funded by the Kirijo Corporation, that investigate and eliminate any threats arising from shadow activity. Many of our former S.E.E.S. team members are at on the reserves list at least, which you are more than welcome to join, should you so choose."

The girl thought but Mitsuru began to dissuade her fears the moment she was coming up with them. "We'll train you, in how to fight with and without a persona, but I imagine it will come quite easily to you. This is what you were built for Labrys. Many struggle to find a purpose, and this is one in which you could truly excel."

Fuuka's stomach sank. None of what she was saying was false, but she'd heard this speech before, in a drab room in Iwatodai, worded in a way to make it impossible to refuse.

Chie grabbed her friend's arm roughly, and spoke in a barely concealed whisper. "You're not actually buying this, are you?"

The maid looked to her friend sadly. "Buyin'? That makes it sound like it doesn't make sense."

"Labrys, she's using you," she said fiercely, "You don't have to be here anymore; you're free."

"Free to do what?" She sighed, and closed her eyes. "Listen, it's not like I was staring out the window here with some sort of big dream. I just wanted to see the world, I didn't have anythin' I thought I wanted to be. But this," she turned her head, nodding to Mitsuru, "This makes sense." The redhead smiled, with genuine warmth, and no one caught Fuuka bowing her head. "On one condition," Labrys added, "You offer these three the gig too."

The Inaba trio were stunned by the proposal, and the curt nod by Mitsuru. "Naturally," she agreed. "Regardless of this incident, I was planning to make the two of you the same offer," she addressed Kanji and Chie, "And another persona-user is a bonus. I was hoping to glean any information on your ability to fight shadows more casually, but I must ask, what are your experiences?"

"Uh," Kanji started, "Well we-"

Chie stopped him abruptly. "We aren't telling. We don't owe you anything."

"I understand you don't trust us," Mitsuru's said, with a legitimately pained expression, "But if you please-"

"Well we won't. C'mon, guys."

As she strode to the door, Teddie tried to protest. "Wait-"

"But-" Kanji joined him.

"They can fight shadows," Labrys blurted. "I saw 'em," she pointed to the TV, "it's how they saved my life in there. Found out about what you were hiding from me." Chie turned, scowling at her friend. She didn't want them to know anything, she didn't want them to mess with their lives like they had done with Labrys. But the pleading look from the android melted her anger, and made her realise she never accounted for her feelings at all. "What they've been through, before and just now, is their business, but I can tell you if you want a shadow's ass kicked, they're the right people for the job."

Mitsuru considered this, but to her the recruitment of persona-users was paramount, regardless of any concrete knowledge of their past experience. "You'll have access to the full range of benefits enjoyed by any government employee, and more than double your current salary. The pretence of working as my security guards will be dropped, however, I will still need you to work that role when required. That however should be made all the more easier with the help of your comrade…"

"Who, me?" Teddie smiled, but he shook his head vigorously. "Nuh-uh. Sorry, while I'd usually pounce on the chance to have such a bear-utiful boss, my likeness is exclusively licenced by Junes! Besides, I've spent far too much time around other shadows already," he looked back at the TV, "And I've still got the whole world to explore!"

"So you're leaving?" Labrys asked, her words coming out a little choked. "But I'll miss you…"

The bear's eyes grew sad. "Don't worry Labby-chan," he said gently, "it just means it'll be more fun when we see each other again! And if you follow my picto-jam, then you'll always know what I'm doing."

"Because it's that interesting…" Kanji grunted under his breath.

Labrys' bottom lip was quivering as she went over to the bear and pulled him into a tight hug. "Promise me you'll come back?"

"Sure as sugar! Well," he smiled as he was released, and strolled closer to the TV, "It's been a lot of fun, but this Teddie is in high demand all over. Bye Kanji-chan! And _Ladies_, Chie, I'll see you, later."

So he clambered onto a chair, and in his inimitable style, stumbled into the TV screen, into the wider world beyond. Fuuka and Mitsuru still offered blank expressions at the phenomenon, but Chie's angry voice brought them back to earth. "Ladies _and _Chie?!" The brunette cried, "Next time I see him, I'll-"

"It was just Ted…" Kanji said tiredly, wondering when the hell that bear would grow a sense of tact along with that body.

"I wonder if all shadows that develop an ego are that energetic," Mitsuru wondered, recoiling when she felt Chie's eyes shooting daggers."

"You know he's a shadow?! How long have you been spying on us?" The martial artist felt hands on both her shoulders, Labrys and Kanji holding their friend back from doing anything too rash.

"Since you arrived," Fuuka replied honestly, in a much calmer tone than Chie liked, "Which I can personally assure you, will cease from this point onwards."

Mitsuru nodded her head in agreement. "We couldn't be sure if you were dangerous; persona-users are rare, and there are a few that would hold issues against us. Naturally," She admitted, "I am very curious about your unique friend. To study him, to learn more about what connects a persona to its master, what makes a normal shadow a lower life form compared to-" She realised this wasn't the place for her speculations, and coughed. "At any rate, in addition to that I would like to perform studies on this TV world of yours, and learn more about the threats you've faced, but," she sighed, "It's clear to me our actions make us unworthy of that information."

"You say that," Chie said, "But what about what you've already know from your eavesdropping? If we're gonna take this job, I want a promise- that you won't go snooping around Inaba or the TV. If you want the story, we'll be the ones to tell it, and it'll be when we feel like." She wanted to avoid the others being dragged into this complicated mess, for their own protection, although secretly, she just wanted to avoid Yu being made the centre of everything once again.

"That's understandable," Fuuka said before Mitsuru could even think of arguing, "and we accept your terms."

"Yes," the CEO hesitantly concurred. "Now, I need your final confirmation. Satonaka-san, Tatsumi-san, will you join the shadow operatives?

They looked at each other. This new job had spiralled out of their control, and certainly wasn't what they signed up for. But they couldn't leave Labrys alone again, and they couldn't deny that they hadn't felt a certain satisfaction back in the TV, that they had been missing for years now. This crazy life they were being offered, with danger and shadows and more importantly, friends, it felt like home. "We'll do it," they said, smiling at Labrys, but not at their now-superiors.

Mitsuru's pleasure at this result was only expressed by a curt nod. "Excellent, now, I imagine you all need some rest. Come to my office tomorrow, and I will outline your training and duties. And may I once again apologise," she stiffened, "For my actions. I know you do not deem me trustworthy now, but I hope in due time… In any case, I must return to my regular duties."

The redhead left hurriedly, giving trio time to consider their exhaustion, something Labrys responded to with by collapsing to the floor. "Labby-chan!" Fuuka cried, getting to her feet and scampering closer, but Chie and Kanji had already taken her arms.

"She'll be alright," Kanji said, "TV can do this to a person. Robots too apparently…"

"That's still sounds weird," Labrys said drowsily, head nodding, fighting to stay conscious.

"Alright, we're putting you to bed missy!" Chie yawned. "Then me, then Kanji…"

"Hey, why am I last?!" The two friends dragged their co-worker out of the room and across the mansion, where sleep would be their welcome reward.

Fuuka was left behind, and her stare was hallow, thoughts casting back to her old life in Iwatodai. _Just like before, _she thought, thinking of Yukari's past accusations. Once again, Mitsuru had convinced more poor souls to join them on their endless crusade, with the offer of a 'choice'. _I suppose that what makes her such a good leader. _Familiar guilt would need to be pushed aside however. She had to get back to work, and would have to make amends, to Labrys, to Chie, to Kanji… She could feel his disdain for her during the initial standoff, the shock in his eyes when held at the point of a deadly weapon, and further back, the mistrust when he questioned her during their lesson. She shook her head. _Why did they have to say yes? _But there was no point in wishing they had a better future. They all shared the same future now, and she had three more lives she had to help keep safe. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a square of wool, one of the products of Kanji's knitting tutorials. _I hope they can learn trust us, _she thought, _in the life we've chosen, it's all we have…_

* * *

_**AN- **Not the most exciting ending I know, but it gives me a good jumping off point to work with if I come back to this. Will I? I'm not sure. This has been my excuse for not starting my original story, and I really need to get on with it! But if I ever want a break from that, write something maybe more lighthearted, well, I know I have this, a story still with places to go._

_But otherwise I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! Do tell me if you have any criticisms, praise, or anything else to say! Thanks to everybody who's taken the time to read this, and all I can say is, goodbye for now! **-WN**_


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